Truth About Darkness
by Alpha Centauri
Summary: Sequel to ::King of Darkness:: Things have been pretty quiet since they've settled down in the land of the rising sun but things aren't always what they seem when Kai is involved.
1. Chapter 1: Mistake

**A.C:** though it would have been great if I could have... it seems that I can't stay away from this fandom . I'm such a glutton for punishment X.x arg, sequel to **_King of Darkness_** hope you enjoy.

**Summary: **The dark phoenix is amongst them once more. Between emotions, hormones, therapy, and all around domestication, the Neo Borg will discover the truth explanations behind one Hiwatari Kai's revival...

**Warnings:**Slashy themes, all around insanity? Structure, grammar, much mistakes. Un-Betaed, uke-kai and possible/guaranteed oocness

**Pairings:** Yuriy/Kai, one-sided/mild Brooklyn/Kai, Takao/Kai, Boris/Kai

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_**-**_

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'**_I want to see him... one last time'_**

_Eyes open, it does not like what it sees. Hands slip through the bars, reaching out. Automatically, his body moves, grasping the broken hand in his own. They stand over a whirlpool of darkness and the dream ends._

-

-

Ivan gleefully played with his newest toy, a laptop given by their only source of solid income, Hiwatari Kai. Boris thoughtfully chewed, thinking how this was the first time they had a civilized breakfast with each other that actually involved real food. Sergei sipped his coffee, reading the news paper. Yuriy was close to being asleep as he could without smashing his face in the eggs. It could be a perfect family almost, almost but not quite.

Without looking Boris said,

"Ivan, not at the table."

A quiet snicker but the wyrm obeyed, sticking his tongue out before the falcon and finishing his helping of bacons.

"I have a mission tonight, I have the right to enjoy things while I can." Ivan said in between bites of sausages and eggs.

"We all know that if I can't kill you," the falcon smoothed butter all over his toast, strangely, the supposed homicidal psychopath had taken liking to... toast. "regrettably, no one else can." Sergei coughed slightly before smoothing out the paper and hiding behind it.

"Well isn't that a comforting thought?"

Sergei thought it wise not to intervene. Yuriy was still floating in and out of consciousness, his hand tightly wound across a silver spoon prepared to skewer and possibly castrate anyone who dared to disturb his rest.

"Neo Borg domesticated, the world would have a heart attack." Kai announced sitting at the table. He looked sleepy, Boris poured him a cup of coffee. "Thanks..." the black liquid swirls leaving brown residue in the porcelain cup before it is handed to the slate haired Russian.

"Nice," Ivan grinned widely, Kai shot him a look. "I mean bad, I mean, good, in a really bad way?"

Kai had returned to his coffee, black, a cube of sugar and always scalding. Kai likes it that way, hot enough to scorch his throat when he drains it steadily.

"Going out today."

Yuriy shot up, nearly throwing his plate of eggs onto Sergei's face. If it had been anyone else, the red wolf's face would tinged in raw pink, much like sunburn and peeling skin the Russian had suffered during the summer months. However, it did not keep the tone of imperceptible hysteria from his voice.

"Going out? As in a date!"

The 'date' part had ended a little high, Yuriy blushed slightly trying to hide behind the stack of pancakes.

In Ivan's mind, he really thought their fearless leader should get laid in the next 24 hours. The role of a jealous and paranoid schoolgirl in love role did not really suit the wolf. Yes, admittedly Yuriy shouldn't have manipulated Kai into dismantling BEGA, he could have asked, but still...

Boris rolled his eyes, already knowing the answer that had been repeated for a month. They really didn't know why Yuriy bothered asking, the answer was same, as usual.

"Going out as in therapy." Yuriy flinched,

Ouch

For a month or so, the annoying dragon duo from BBA, Taka-something and Daichi had been dragging the phoenix back and forth between Hiwatari's and the what's-his-last-name Brooklyn's to make sure there were no hard feelings and wasn't going to start the next Armageddon out of pure spite of one another.

It was initially suggested by Hitoshi, worried for his student's sake. Kai had scoffed at the idea, but somehow Takao had been able to drag him out with the help of his partner in crime. In the end, Kai had inevitably succumbed knowing that it would take more strength to resist than go along peacefully with them. Not to mention it was mildly amusing when Yuriy sputtered indignantly with his face red enough to match his hair.

'_Yuriy isn't the only one...'_

Sergei thought it was dangerous

Ivan thought it was good for their leader to exercise self-control

Yuriy, well Yuriy had broken legs. His thoughts didn't count much as of now. But it didn't stop him from moaning all day when Kai was away. Despite the fact that they were not together and Kai usually turned down his more 'affectionate' advances.

Boris thought he deserved it

Daichi thought he was saving the world

Takao thought it was necessary

And Kai never shed light on his opinions

Right on cue, like a herd of rampaging bison, Takao and Daichi burst into the dining room distressing the poor maids. With a customary, 'Yo! Kai!' the two dragons began to process of extracting the garnet eyed Russian from his seat.

While Takao took time to ogle at the collection of beautiful women serving breakfast before eying Kai, Daichi was pulling the said youth to his feet in between helping himself to large portions of lavish breakfast the Neo Borg was planning on consuming.

"Watch it brat," Yuriy snarled as the short redhead bumped into Yuriy's leg. The midget made a face before pushing the protesting phoenix out the door. Takao reluctantly parted after the duo holding buttered and syrup laden pancake in his hands, giving the Neo Borg a faint wave.

"So Yuriy, about those anger management classes..."

-

-

It's autumn. The cold winds already rolling in from Siberia. The leaves are very much dyed in multicolored layers though the recent showers have grounded most of them. Kai captures a tiny leafling in his hands, turning it over to observe the vein of green still preserved within the red and yellow. Daichi makes a game out of jumping in every single pile they come across much to Kai's and the sweeper's annoyance. Then they're there, the temporary housing of Brooklyn Moore.

As always, a calculating look is shared between the two members of BBA-Revolution before they face the small apartment question and begin their laborious climb up the stairs. Brooklyn isn't the only one staying there, Garland is also there, for damage control. Or at least, until the government straightens this whole thing of totaling half a city and let them go back home. No doubt that Daichi and Takao would be making a pit stop there like always.

Three knocks are customary, sometimes four if Takao feels impatient. More if Daichi feels the need to join in. It is particularly worse when they haven't been fed thoroughly by Mr. Kinomiya. At his old age, he should be taking a permanent vacation somewhere in the Philippines, not babysitting two obnoxious children. Then again, with Hitoshi around it might just be bearable. A quick grimace crosses at the thought, broken when the harsh knocks of fist hitting th metal echoes around them.

All these years and Takao has not yet learned that that is what the doorbells are for.

Politely Brooklyn answers the door, again reminding the dragon blader that he should use doorbells like any other normal person. He ushers them in, tasting the chilling wind.

Brooklyn hadn't changed in the past month or so. He still had the natural flare of arrogance about him, he still is a genius. He served them sponge cake, seemingly warm in his emerald green sweater.

With voracious appetites, Daichi and Takao sucked it all up until there was nothing left besides a few crumbs. Even then Daichi had licked the plate clean before Brooklyn could take it away. Takao, in his usual clothing in primary colors, had pathetically implored for the untouched slice of cake in front of Kai only using his blue violet eyes. Disgusted with the whole display of carnage in the murder of the innocent cake, Kai pushed the plate forward, therefore, sending his share of sponge cake to its untimely demise.

Satisfied that Brooklyn wouldn't be feeding them anymore, Takao asked his former captain briefly to check that he wasn't collapsing into a seizure in front of the ginger haired prodigy, Takao bid his fellow bladers farewell looking to obviously at Kai. Racing towards the door to see who could get to Garland's first.

Shaking his head elegantly Brooklyn offered more cake. Kai declined, standing up to follow Brooklyn into the miniature green house he had created in one of the rooms. Brooklyn assured the slate haired phoenix that he didn't need help cleaning up. Kai merely hned before sitting down on a bench in the room.

"You shouldn't be so cold." commented Brooklyn as he sat down beside him. "One might think you hate me." without batting an eye Kai replied,

"I do."

Brooklyn smiles picking up a small pot beside the bench. The painting had dried leaving a coat of marbling bronze in its awake. There had been attempts to add other colors, so far the results had been disappointing for the colors bled into one another in to a less desirable mottling.

"Ne Kai... you shouldn't lie." Kai closed his eyes, "Why would you come back if you hated me so much?" Brooklyn had began to fiddle with a small pot, examining it for possible chips and cracks.

"Takao and Daichi has been dragging me here for the past month, do you really need me to answer that?"

"But..." Brooklyn set the pot down, standing up and reaching for one of the over hanging plants to water it. "You could just say 'no' to your teammates."

"Hn, they're not my teammates." Brooklyn began to water the rest of the plants in the room. The miniature indoor greenhouse had once been the master bedroom. The bathroom attached to it gave Brooklyn to easier access to water.

"Ah... Why do you keep coming back Kai? Thought we were over the whole... hmm... beat each other up thing." Brooklyn refilled the small watering can, looking sideways at the mirror to see the reflection of the phoenix on the other side.

"Maybe I want something." Brooklyn stilled then continued watering the exotic iris.

"Maybe you do."

The room was silent after that save for the continuous rain like sound made by Brooklyn's watering. When he finished picking dead leaves off of an ivy, the wielder of darkness turned his full attention to the phoenix.

The wielder of darkness kneeled before the phoenix, before pressing his hands on to Kai's lap and snaking his neck around Kai's face. Kai stiffened as Brooklyn playfully rubbed his cheek against the temple, the ginger haired teen's eyes narrowed in amusement.

"What do you want Kai?" the green eyed teen's face was close. His cheeks still brushing softly against Kai's own. Kai shivered unintentionally as Brooklyn's misty breathing fluttered against his ear. Summoning whatever courage he had left he flatly stated,

"You saw what happened to me." the green orbs narrowed further, though Kai could not see it. With a visible sigh Brooklyn sat down beside Kai, his head perched on Kai's shoulder. The ruby eyed youth made no movements as to remove him, Brooklyn took that as a good sign.

"Yes..." Brooklyn conceded, already knowing what the next question would be. Birds were curious creatures, one merely needed an abstract combination of colors, something distracting and new and you would have the wind bound creature in your hands. Slightly cheered by the prospect of a good hunt, the keeper of the holy beast Zeus did not interrupt. Apathetic to the hanging question that followed, contrast to his previous behavior.

"Tell me..."

The was another sigh as Brooklyn looked away before concentrating on a spot on the opposite wall. The ginger haired youth began to hum a tuneless song dreamily in favor of ignoring the Russian. Kai scowled, frustrated, if the ginger haired genius thought that tuning him out by staring at a non-existent wilting in his plants...

"I'll cut you a deal with you, " Brooklyn said suddenly, lifting his head off of Kai. He stood up, looking at the phoenix lazily sideways before looking at the door. "I'll do my best to satisfy your curiosity, "

Kai did not miss the predatory gleam in Brooklyn's eyes as he followed the prodigy out the door. The door closed gently behind them with a click, Brooklyn turned around.

"In return?"

There was absolutely noway anything could come without a price, the only free thing you were entitled to was probably your soul, and even then some didn't have that.

"Companionship, I will answer one question a day." Announced Brooklyn, cleaning up the plates and cups still left on the table. Unconsciously Kai realized that their two hour session was up, usually Kai would leave earlier just in case Takao came back to escort him back to his estate. Usually was the keyword, Kai realized that from now on they would be playing on the green eyed genius' terms.

"And you want me to come back until I ask the last one." Finished Kai.

"Exactly, or at least the whole mess with VISA gets settled," Brooklyn shrugged, "either way..." his eyes took on a mischievous glint, "Deal?"

What was it with Brooklyn and cornering people against the walls? Sheer sadistic pleasure from his panicking victims or something more? Or had he finally found what he was looking for amongst the rough stone? Someone who was willing to fight back.

He didn't need another replay of that incident, he really didn't... but he was desperate. He bit his tongue.

"Very well..."

The knocks came on the door,

On time,

As usual.

It didn't used to be that way...

Brooklyn gave a small bow.

He could still hear the humming as the indigo haired dragon barreled into him and pulled him out of the abyss that was Brooklyn's home.

* * *

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**A.C.: **I hate the whole process with VISA btw -nods- 


	2. Chapter 2: Let it go

**A.C.:** I think of Brooklyn as Fuji Syuusuke from Tenis no Oujisama, no clue why but it just feels dunno... right? Hmm seems like Kai's going to get molested a lot... ahh well I'm not complaining...Where's my Yuriy/Kai goodness? Some thing's screwed up about this chapter >.>

**Summary: **The dark phoenix is amongst them once more. Between emotions, hormones, therapy, and all around domestication, the Neo Borg will discover the truth explanations behind one Hiwatari Kai's revival...

**Warnings:**Slashy themes, all around insanity? Structure, grammar, much mistakes. Un-Betaed, uke-Kai and possible/guaranteed oocness

**Pairings:** Yuriy/Kai, one-sided/mild Brooklyn/Kai, Takao/Kai, Boris/Kai

* * *

Takao rambled on mindlessly as they walked down the rain slick streets. Kai occasionally grunted in acknowledgment, the Dragoon blader seemed satisfied with that. So far they had traveled in their one sided conversation from the subject about blade upgrades to how the tea at Garland's tasted. Takao stuttered momentarily before tentatively trailing off on the subject of friends.

Kai rolled his eyes, any half wit with eyes could tell that the navy haired Japanese was more than a little infatuated with the red eyed phoenix. At first it had been mildly entertaining, now it was getting to be more than annoying. He could hardly step outside without having Takao getting underfoot (it was as if Takao had an unspoken agreement with Yuriy on the subject of stalking him), and they wondered why he liked the rooftops so much...

"So... you entering the tournament next year?" Takao asked hopefully as they took a turn at a block, sneaking between houses to take a shortcut through the woods. The ground sunk with a distinctive 'squish' under the dragon's feet, Kai on the other hand made no noise as they cut through the soggy yard of a house. Behind them, a brown and white mop of fur barked at them, Takao stopped long enough to give the pup a rude gesture with his fingers. When they were hidden behind the house they heard the owner screaming at the mutt to shut up.

"Perhaps..." why did everyone ask that question anyways? In the first week of clean up of the day dubbed 'the battle', he and his teammates had been positively harassed by the media. They even had one very brave and very stupid reporter come up to them and ask if Boris ate children which would account for many still missing under the concrete rubble of BBA building. Needless to say Boris was anything but amused and threatened to track and feed the man to Falborg if he ever came within three-mile radius of them.

Yes... victory often came with a hefty price tag. Billions of dollars worth in damage to surrounding area and buildings. Death toll mounting up to hundreds, those who weren't found within the week were left for dead. As much as Takao and his friends helped out, no matter how much a donation he sent to help out, nothing would change the fact that people were dead and they were the cause of it.

_Dead..._

In fact, there were rumors circulating that there would be safety restrictions placed on tournaments next year. More for the safety of the audience than the bladers, but then again the bladers always had managed to survive so far, BBA really didn't have enough money to protect the norm and the abnormal at the same time.

"What kind of an answer is that? Either you enter or you don't! If your teammates are too old to participate... well you know... there will always be room on my team for you Kai." Takao actually blushed, Kai pretended not to notice.

Takao did have a valid point. Sergei would be turning 18, leaving only Boris, Ivan and Yuriy fit to blade, if they chose to blade at all that is.

_Yuriy.._.

"Hey Kai, you alright?" Blue violet eyes bobbed up and down worriedly along with the blue gloved hand. Kai blinked before shrugging it off and entering the forest. Takao gave a protesting yelp before plunging into the veil of autumn colors.

-

-

Contrary to popular belief, Ivan did not spend most of his time registering himself into various adult sites scattered across the net. It was amazing what one picture could do to fuel a rumor just waiting to explode. Or perhaps it was that people had no life outside tormenting innocent children like him. Well not quite innocent he thought as he wistfully eyed a cute Irish maid with wavy red hair and face full of freckles.

But there was only so many things to do during peace time. wasn't there some meaningful quote about fighting to protect that peace? Ivan shuddered unconsciously, knowing how the last bout for peace turned out... Boris hadn't stopped raving about it for months, something about showing _them_ a thing or two about eating nasty little babies on TV. Thankfully Sergei had been able to appease the violent Russian and thwart a possible threat of terrorism in Japan.

Ivan sighed languidly, uncertain if this could go on. Affectionate mind touches from Wyborg and he was on his luxurious bed, counting down the hours until he had to go on a mission. A mission, since the snake didn't quite feel it was right to freeload off of their part Japanese part Russian friend. Yes, he may be a slimy, stinking, indecent, (he wasn't about to say short) and all those other nice adjectives that Boris described him with, but he did come with his own set of morals.

Just thinking about his captain gave him a headache. Why couldn't the redhead go kiss and make up with Kai!

Suddenly hit by an insane idea, he glanced at the clock and opened his laptop...

-

-

_Hands slip into the iron bars grasping the other. Fire licks the side of the wrists as the fingers lace together in union, the flesh burns but neither can afford to care. _

_They are above the darkness..._

-

-

"Well Mister Ivanov, I must say you're healing quite nicely." Yuriy curbed the urge to let his fist fly when the old hag slapped her wrinkled hand down on his leg heartily until he felt that it would have been better if she had just broken it instead.

'Not if she keeps doing that...' thought Boris and Sergei as they frantically shot their leader patronizing glares on how not to kill the elderly doctor even if she was annoying. Currently Sergei's stare translated something akin to _'you've survived that brat Takao and Daichi, this is nothing...'_

"When will I be able to take off the cast?" growled Yuriy gritting his teeth. Overlooking the clipped tone and the icy daggers the redhead was glaring at him, the woman pronounced a month until his legs would be healed enough for him to get out of the cast and enjoy his springtime of youth.

"That's what you said last time!" exasperation wasn't a foreign emotion to him, neither was the intense desire to throttle and maim the doctor was. It was just that he had always been taught to make his kills cleanly and efficiently, all the teachings would go out the cracked and grimy window if she kept beaming at him.

"Well Mister Ivanov, if you didn't take such strenuous exercises your bones would have healed right now." she grinned and gave him a bottle of painkillers, "now be a dear and keep off your feet won't you? And I will see you... next week." Boris and Sergei managed to grab Yuriy and sprint out the door before the redhead Russian decided to do something drastic.

-

-

"You know she is right, you should keep off your feet while your legs heal." Commented Boris lightly, looking at the redhead. They were in one of Kai's limousines since none of them were old enough to drive. At least, not yet.

The driver gave them a questioning look before Sergei gave her the directions.

Yuriy awarded to smirking falcon with a suffering glare,

"You have no room to talk Kuznetsov..."

Sergei sighed while the smirk on the gray haired falcon's face grew wider.

"Ahh yes, but the point is that I healed in a relatively short period compared to you oh fearless leader."

It was turning out to be something of a past time for Boris. The 'it' being irritating the hell out of Yuriy before he cracked, Boris wisely retreating before the breaking point to leave Yuriy nothing else but Ivan and Sergei to vent his anger out on. Kai was still the untouchable taboo subject in between both of them, Yuriy was to proud to see that an apology would work much faster than depending on time to wear the walls down. Sergei rolled his eyes, maybe he was maturing, or maybe his teammates were trying to devolve mentally.

"Your bones are hollow,"

"Fortunately, not as hollow as your head."

Yuriy growled threateningly, Boris was going somewhere with this. Usually their verbal war (which Boris almost always won in) were initiated by boredom on both parties. Or when they thought they had an important point to get across. Trying to flush Wyborg down the toilet was one of them, the subject of Kai was another.

Yuriy grew morose at the thought, Boris looked smug.

"What do you think I should do?"

"You're asking me fearless leader?" Boris raised his brows quizzically, teasingly,

"Boris..."

"I think you should apologize, but then I think that you should stay away... you do not deserve him."

"And you do?" growled Yuriy,

"I never said that Ivanov, I'm saying _you_ do not deserve Kai Hiwatari."

"Boris,"

"What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

"Let him go, or apologize."

'_Let him go...'_

Apologizing had always been lurking in Yuriy's mind, at the tip of his tongue whenever Kai had decided to grace them with his presence. But he knew, some primitive part that told him not to show weakness, and another telling him Kai did not want another sorry added up on his shoulders.

Yuriy buried his face in his hand. Boris looked out the window, Sergei sighed gustily.

The problem with them all was that having no other people to model themselves besides Balcov and the occasional scientists that crept by their sides, they had begun to depend on their bit spirits a little too much to be healthy.

For example, Sergei was never happier than swimming at least two hours in the outdoor pool Hiwatari mansion possessed, even in below zero degrees temperatures. Ivan liked to sunbathe when it was a nice weather outside, otherwise they could always find him holed up in some cupboard with his laptop in hand. A large portion of Yuriy's irritability had come from not being able to run, Boris' from being trapped in enclosed spaces like the car. And assuming that the Japanese spirit _Suzaku_ was based upon a bird of prey, Kai was doing just that. Solitary and weary, always on rooftops.

Thirty minutes of stifling silence later, they reached the Hiwatari mansion and got off at the entrance while the driver went off to park. Two adoring maids burst out of the front door fussing over the three Russians and eventually making their way over to Yuriy's side as to support him.

At first the red wolf protested to their fussing as the two maids, a red head with a slightly duller coloring, and a blonde began to half-carry half-drag him up the stairs. Or at least, until Sergei had cleared his throat and patiently reminded him about the certain doctor who was waiting for him next week.

Utterly defeated Yuriy let the two maids carry him to a couch and leave him there with the promise of tea and other snacking items.

The clouds were ominous over the sky, Yuriy was mildly grateful they did not get caught in the autumn rain shower.

Boris had ran off to remind Ivan. Sergei gave a pleasant smirk at the glaring redhead.

-

-

Dancing leaves as the wind stripped the trees of their colorful cover. Dashes of blue as Kai ran, away from him. A rough heart shape of bright yellow ginko leaf, deepening red and pink of maple. Brown of long dead oak, and dark green of a leaf that had barely started to color.

It was a dizzying experience as Takao sprinted after his captain. The branches camouflaged with wet leaves swinging down on him whenever he deemed it safe. Gnarled root on the forest floor undetectable to the careless eye and yet Kai ran, really ran weaving through trees as if he had personally known all of them existed. It was all Takao could do but follow, tripping on hidden holes more times than he could count before regaining his gait.

Kai had stopped, Takao barely missed plowing into the taller youth as Kai turned away, untouchable like a ghost. Takao groaned in pain as he got off the spongy floor, picking out the splinters on his palms. The black blue fabric of Kai's jacket, the same one he was wearing when they all went head to head with Brooklyn was horribly conspicuous against the vibrant background. At least that's what Takao thought as he curiously observed the Russian phoenix as to clue in on the reason why he stopped.

It was raining...

Takao's breath caught in his throat. Like a spirit, a dryad in fairy tales, Kai came closer and looked down into his eyes.

"Your eyes are blue."

Takao blinked as a droplet of rain dripped down from the silvery blue hair into his wide blue eyes.

"_He's your responsibilty"_

"_He looks up to you"_

"_And whose fault is that Hitoshi?"_

And hesitantly, Takao raised a hand to a blue finned cheek, admiring the soft skin, puzzled at the ink like blue that lay distinctive and pronounced in the rain. Kai flinched but Takao didn't let go. The dragon in his delusion planted a innocent kiss on Kai's cheek, close to the corner of his lips.

Kai didn't move, didn't kiss him back like in those smutty romance novels he caught Hiromi reading. Didn't do anything except... with revulsion, punched the Japanese's jaw and push him away before shooting off beyond the line of trees.

Takao stilled with a shock, his whole head aching as if a train had run over it. But need overrode the pain of splitting and breaking heart, how he found himself running again as if in a dream, hunting after the dual haired Russian.

The cover of the trees thinned, the rain seemed to increase. They both broke out into the sidewalk, Kai's desperation nothing to Takao's shock, pain, anger, grief... need... guilt.

It wasn't long before the houses cleared into flat land, over where the towering steel gates indicated his destination. Takao's hand shot out to grab the paler wrist, Kai glared in anger before trying to free himself.

Takao knew it would hurt, Hiromi had told him once, about the time she had confessed to Ray. Takao didn't know it would hurt this much. Ignoring the pain in his chest and his face where an ugly purple bruise formed, the blue haired dragon blurted out the first thing that crossed his mind.

"I'm sorry," gasped Takao, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me I swear, I'm sorry." Takao could have sworn the glare softened a little as Kai stopped struggling. Takao felt his hand burn, the hand that had a iron hold over the wrist, of course that could have all been Kai's thrashes. Kai stared intently at him, not having spoken a word. Takao grew nervous and felt Seiryu voice his own thoughts as the skin on skin contact began to burn hotter until with a yelp the dragon let go, nursing the abused digits.

Like a bullet, Kai started run, stopped only when the other hand shot out to grasp Kai by the arm. This time safe from skin to skin contact by the dark cloth that made up Kai's jacket. Seiryu roared in agreement and Takao winced, sucking on the now blistering fingers.

"Let go Kinomiya."

The command was cold and sharp, as Takao would say, Kai-like in its frosty bite that left Takao guiltily looking down. The rain did not relent, both blader's hair had long since lost their spikiness and hung limply down past their shoulders and chin, Kai's more so because his silver bangs were longer than Takao's own.

"I'm sorry," muttered Takao, looking up at Kai in the eyes. Kai's glare, if anything, intensified.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it."

"Why are you so mad anyways... you let Yuriy and Brooklyn hang over you all the time and you don't seem to mind..."

Kai raised his arm above his head, Takao's hand had no choice but follow. Takao gulped at the ferocity lying behind the crimson orbs but he can't help but notice the finger shaped red left by his hands. Nor can he ignore the sinister black markings crisscrossing the wrist.

"I said let go Kinomiya."

Takao lets go, reluctantly.

"I'm sorry..." but all that hears him is the rain, and the back of Kai's receding form.

It rains harder.

-

-

Kai opens the door and goes in, soaked to the bone. Luckily the maids do not notice, he takes off his jacket, thoroughly dampening the welcome mat below. With a sigh he crushes the dark jacket to his chest, burying his face in its wetness before slumping against the door.

"Kai?"

Yuriy limped towards the phoenix, wondering why he hadn't announced his arrival. Carefully uncovering the slate haired Russian's face from the layer of rain soaked cloth the wolf was surprised to find garnet orbs looking up at him.

No tears,

No heartbreaks

Nothing...

Except an ounce of sadness pocketed in red.

"Let go Yuriy..."

* * *

**  
A.C.: **Hollow bones would heal slower I think, less blood getting everywhere and that crap. So on that point Yuriy would be wrong to say that Boris healed faster than him because of hollow bones. 

**Ayatsuji:** -is honored- you're one of my favorite authors you know that? You have no idea how happy your review made me feel :D (happy and fuzzy inside... warm fuzzy?) Yeah you did review for _'King of Darkness',_ near turned me into pink sparkly goo there too XD


	3. Chapter 3: Rainy Street

**A.C.:** I will not feel sudden pity for Takao, I will not feel sudden pity for Takao... no I don't know when Hitoshi's or any other blader's birthdays are. Assuming beyblade tournaments are held around the summer months of the northern hemisphere (which reminds me, in g-rev they fought in Australia... isn't it supposed to be winter there or something?) Takao's birthday should be around early to mid-July to end of August. (I don't think Japan starts breaks as early as Americans...)

This chapter bothers me too...

**Summary: **The dark phoenix is amongst them once more. Between emotions, hormones, therapy, and all around domestication, the Neo Borg will discover the truth explanations behind one Hiwatari Kai's revival...

**Warnings:**Slashy themes, all around insanity? Structure, grammar, much mistakes. Un-Betaed, uke-Kai and possible/guaranteed oocness. While I did see V-force and G-rev to completion, I missed most of season 1 so... yeah. (everytime I tried to watch it was as if the series was stuck on the White Tigers arc >.>)

**Pairings:** Yuriy/Kai, one-sided/mild Brooklyn/Kai, Takao/Kai, Boris/Kai

* * *

_Because heaven welcomes no one..._

Takao looked up vacantly at the sky feeling the cool drops slip off his face. He raised a hand to his cheek, traced the outline of his now livid bruise as it pulsed an angry red. Tasting the distinctive tang of salt tracks, he dropped his hand, his eyes now free from spots of amethyst.

In the rain, Kinomiya Takao was crying.

-

-

"Let go Yuriy."

Yuriy paused for a split second before fruitlessly trying to pull Kai up from his seat in the puddle of water. His leg twinged in reaction to the pouring rain outside, Yuriy narrowed his eyes.

"You're going to catch a cold Kai..." a defeated sigh as the phoenix looked away. Letting go of the rain soaked jacket Yuriy put his hands on his hips, "Just what am I going to do with you Hiwatari?" seeing no reaction Yuriy shrugged before sitting down beside Kai. Kai gave the redhead a startled look. At this Yuriy explained, "If you're not going to move, I'm not going to either, and while you sit here determined to freeze to death, I might as well sharing body heat because heavens forbid you get a cold, Boris will murder me in my sleep."

Ah yes, the ever present threat of a falcon on a warpath.

This earned him a brief smile from the slate haired phoenix. Yuriy felt absurdly pleased for no particular reason.

"I don't get colds." it was a debatable subject. While the members of Neoborg were resistant to most viruses, lethal infections and etc, they couldn't deny the fact that they had been sicker than any other point in their lives in Japan. Bad air, Kai had once explained and had advised them to wear masks when going out to more developed parts of the city.

"Mmhmmm..." Yuriy snuggled closer to the door, not minding the chill of sitting in cold water. Outside the rain was probably pouring down, the scent was one that he recognized well enough. The smell of rain hitting the heated pavement, how he longed to be out there. The redhead stretched his toes experimentally, feeling the crimson eyes following his every move.

"I don't," Kai insisted, feeling a bit foolish for doing so.

"Tell that to Boris after you wake up with a fever." Kai doesn't say anything for a while. Yuriy felt it's a safe bet that the phoenix wouldn't torch his arm off if he placed it around the slim frame. He can feel the miniature tremors that go through Kai's body, where are those bloody maids when you need them? "Something wrong?"

"Something like that," Kai responds amiably blinking his eyes once or twice as if to wake from a long wrought dream. Kai doesn't tell Yuriy off for touching him, Yuriy moved closer, prying the wet jacket from the teen's arms.

"Yuriy..." the sadness had evolved, Yuriy had been wrong, there was something in those eyes. Kai was troubled, confusion outlined the redness as Yuriy brushed a stray wet lock from Kai's face. The jacket fell to the floor, Yuriy's eyes wandered to the finger mark bruises on Kai's wrist entwined with darker lines. Something foreign, something akin to envy bubbled up in Yuriy's chest. How strange that the jealousy had been tamer in Boris' presence.

Yuriy feels betrayed. The bruises are light, almost unnoticeable, but they're still there.

"Takao do something to you?" Yuriy asked in a low voice, he could literally smell the blue haired Japanese as his eyes searched Kai's face. Kai flinched away at the sight of anger in Yuriy's eyes. A hand deviated to the slightly red wrist, for Kai it was as if he had been shocked. Kai squirmed inwardly,

'_Not now, please, not now...'_

"Yuriy," a finger hushed him as Yuriy looked in to his eyes. Kai felt his face flush at the close proximity. Did he have 'molest me' written in neon colors on his forehead today? Still, he couldn't help but feel a little eager.

"Kai I..."

"Oh my, master Kai!" One of the maids had finally discovered them. Yuriy groaned and cursed whatever deity that happened to be listening somewhere.

At the cry, other women of various ages poured in towards the entrance, smothering them in a blanket and herding them over to the living room where a fire was promptly lit. others were seen mopping up the floor and taking Kai's jacket for laundering.

Yuriy was more than a little grumpy at this administration but the flustered little quirk to Kai's lips made up for it somewhat.

When Yuriy was looking away Kai turned his head slightly to hide an embarrassed smile forming on his face.

-

-

Takao trudged home, ignoring the smear of mud on his jeans, ignoring the rain that had thinned to a bear trickle, ignored the waft of fog that rose up from the ground, ignoring everything. His jaw still hurt.

Without announcing his return, he kicked off the waterlogged sneakers before peeling off his socks. Squeezing his cap free of water at the door, he placed it back on his head as he made his way towards his room.

"Takao?"

Hitoshi eyed at the younger Kinomiya oddly. Takao was sopping wet and dripping all over the floor, thankfully the puffiness of his eyes had subsided. Hitoshi's eyes narrowed at the sight of the puddles that tracked all the way from the entrance. Hell if he had to mop that up.

"Dinner's ready." the delicious aroma of steamed vegetables and chicken assaulted them but Takao seemed aloof and immune to the scent.

There was some mumbling in response, obscured by the fact that it was too quiet even for his sharp ears and that Daichi was making a ruckus in the kitchen with his loud, _'I want second helpings!'_ the smaller blader had been coming down the mountain everyday to hang out with Takao, soon they would have to ask him to move in to save the commute. Hitoshi sighed at the mental picture of another large mouth to feed.

"Say it again?"

"...isaidimnothungry..."

Had he heard it right? Hitoshi went up to Takao but the younger boy refused to raise his head. Placing his hand on his forehead, Hitoshi place the other on Takao's other head.

No fever, might be a danger of one seeing how he was so drenched. Takao couldn't be that sick could he? They were talking about a boy who continuously tried to get three whole servings for three square meals even bedridden with a stomach flu!

"...Please tell me that the world isn't about to end right now."

No response.

"I'll give Daichi your dinner."

"..."

Hitoshi tried another tactic. "Go to your room and change into something dry, I'll be there in a minute." Takao nodded before robotically turning his whole body towards the direction of his room. Hitoshi went into the kitchen.

-

-

The air was thick with last minute dragonflies swiftly devoured by white winged gulls. The cracked concrete of the platforms were constantly swept by attendants clearing away torn pieces of transparent wings. The ocean spray lapped against the rocky edges as the boats hummed to life.

Somewhere in the coast of Korea, four teens were purchasing a ticket to cross over to Japan.

-

-

Takao quickly stripped himself of clothing and dumped them in a heap on the floor. He wasn't particularly concerned about cleanness right now. He hung his cap on top of a bedside stand, clearing it of its previous occupant. The rain had stopped completely and it was hazy outside. As cliché as it might have sounded, the weather seemed to reflect on his thoughts, cloudy and muddled.

'_Kai...'_

He silently weighed the word on his tongue before slipping into something dryer. Not feeling up to wearing the whole outfit, he dressed himself in a long sleeved yellow shirt and a pair of blue shorts, from the old days. He gave himself a quiet smile thinking about three years back when it had all started.

'_Kai...'_

'_...Let go Kinomiya'_

'_I'm sorry'_

He sat on his bed, hugging to pillow close to himself.

A few minutes later Hitoshi came into the room, wearing a ridiculously pink apron that Takao had never seen before.

Even in his despair, Takao couldn't help but to give a mute inquiry over frilly garment.

"It's from Mingming, it's a present for my birthday (which you conveniently ignored)."

"Ah?" Hitoshi sighed, seating himself on the edge and untying the knot behind his back. Takao briefly admired his older sibling, comparing and contrasting the similarities with his former captain. They had the same languid grace, the agileness and a way of moving that reminded him of a predator-in-wait.

'_Like a cat,'_ his face throbbed in agreement, the bruise progressing into shades of deeper blue thanks to _Seiryu's_ influence. _'quiet, quick and vicious.'_

"What's wrong Takao? It's not like you to miss dinner." Hitoshi pointedly ignored the bruise, giving Takao the 'I-will-deal-with-it-later' look.

"It's nothing. Something I ate at Garland's I think." Takao cringed, even to him the excuse sounded so fallible.

"Right." The sound of a broken plate, grandpa's yells, Daichi's running. "So who's the lucky girl?"

"Girl?" Takao looked up, Hitoshi looked back at him, quietly diagnosing that the bruise was probably not fatal, Takao hadn't lost any teeth and he might need an ice pack later. Already the edges were fading away in to the skin.

"Or a boy, so?"

Takao looked at his brother incredulously, open mouthed at how well Hitoshi was taking all this. For all it was worth, they could have been discussing the patterns of the floor, or even how many bowls of rice Daichi had consumed at that moment.

"Wait, aren't you mad or anything?" Takao asked tentatively, still wondering if the news had sunk into the man's brain yet.

"For what?" Hitoshi asked idly, tsking at the pile of wet clothing at the foot of the bed.

"You know... me being gay and all..." the pillow lay abandoned by his side, the middle had been squeezed so hard that it was nearly devoid of cotton fluff that filled it. He nervously chewed his nails, drawing patterns on the sheets.

"Not really, I'm always open minded. I guess traveling around the world does that to you." Replied Hitoshi, now tugging at the violet-pink knot at the base of his neck.

"Oh." Takao was now beyond the point of chewing on his pinky, seeing how he had started from the thumb. He got started on the other hand and nibbled on the thumb.

"So?" Hitoshi folded the apron neatly in his lap, pulling his hand away in distaste at the glitter that came off.

"So..." Takao repeated, moving on to his index finger.

"Stop that, who's the lucky guy who captured my little brother's nonexistent attention?"

There was a mumble as Takao ignored the teasing tone and gnawed at the middle finger.

"Do I know him?"

Love problems, Hitoshi too had them once upon a time, but he didn't get beat up over it. More like act like an idiot for a while, but snapped out of it eventually. The older Kinomiya hoped that Takao would do the same and forget about whoever he was hung up on right now. Kids...

"Probably."

"What's he like?" Hitoshi spied the darkening bruise on the side of Takao's face. "Violent?"

"He's not like that all the time, he... I... Ikindakissedhim"

Figures Takao would do the stupid thing and do the first thing he saw in one of those romance novels they had lying around from Hiromi's frequent visits. Useless waste of paper they were, Hitoshi planned to gather what they had in the house and offer them to some unseen god someday.

"Ah... I'm sorry to say that... you probably deserved that hit then."

"...yeah..." Really, his brother hadn't offered any miraculous solutions to his dilemma but somehow talking had taken the load off of his chest. Kai's rejection still hurt, felt like a bitch, but Takao felt better. A lot better in fact.

"You sure you don't want dinner?" Hitoshi asked, guessing that Takao would be hungry right about now. Sure enough there was a resounding growl of the infamous stomach as it demanded its share of food.

"I thought you gave it to Daichi?"

"I lied," Hitoshi poked the wet pile of clothing with his toe, watching it shake capriciously before debating whether it was safe to take it down to the laundry room.

Takao jumped out of the bed.

"Why didn't you say so!" the indigo flash as his calling card, the boy wonder ran down the halls. Hitoshi got up to go back to the kitchen in case Daichi **_had _**eaten Takao's share despite the threats of sending the small redhead on a training camp with Hiromi. Just then, Takao poked his head back in. "Uhh... Hitoshi? Thanks"

"Sure," Hitoshi replied chuckling as he followed Takao out the door. "What else are older brothers for?"

Laundry could wait.

-

-

_He doesn't like what he sees. Thin fingers slip through the bars, he grasps them but lose hold when the flames burn through the flesh. He cries in frustration as the black waters cool his hands, but the bars are gone and so is the hand behind them._

-

-

Kai left early, not particularly wanting to meet up with Takao, should the dragon come back after that particular incident. (Yuriy was more than disgruntled at this news) Brooklyn was pleasantly surprised to see that someone had actually used the doorbell, someone other than those who delivered odd items to him and officials that came to examine the youth's mental state that is.

"I was afraid it would rust, but it makes such a ghastly sound..."

The doorbell made a wheezing sound that trailed off into a high pitch. The horrid tune it played lasted well over a minute.

Coffee, Brooklyn offered cream but Kai declined. Brooklyn was humming that nameless tune again, he seemed... cheerful.

"How far can you see?" Kai asked after a while. He deemed it safe enough to approach the subject, and rather than asking Brooklyn if he could see in the first place, Kai had skipped unnecessary questions that he knew or thought unimportant.

"Pardon?" Brooklyn thought it was quite rude to ask suddenly, but then again the two were never conversationalists to start with, Kai more so than Brooklyn. Still, even if he had already foreseen all this this, it didn't hurt to ask once more.

_Bide your time..._

"Your visions, how far?"

Brooklyn weighed the words in his head, trying to find a right answer for the question. It wouldn't do to keep the phoenix unsatisfied, after all he did say one question and it was one he would answer. Truthfully, even if the truth sounded emptier than lies.

"So rude Kai." Brooklyn remarked, "Visions come and go, they're not always right." he approached carefully, Kai was biting his lower lip. He had acquired the habit from somewhere, it made him look adorable. Brooklyn blinked, had he just thought...

"You said I would lose, you were right." stabbed Kai reproachfully, peering down at the swirling liquid.

"I was wrong the next time around." a silver spoon is discarded on the plate.

"How far can you see?"

"How far can you see?" Brooklyn had foreseen many possible outcomes to this outcome. He had mulled them over in his head while tending to his flora earlier in the morning. He hadn't come up with a plausible answer yet so he was stalling, until the question wore itself out or until Kai inadvertently asked another, easier to answer question.

"I asked first,"

So much for the delaying tactics, he was never the one to hurry things.

"Saa...So you did." Brooklyn wore an unusual expression on his face, a pout... but it disappeared before Kai could be sure it had been there in the first place. "At first there was only one door."

"A door." repeated Kai, slightly disbelieving.

'_Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly.'_

"A door," Brooklyn agreed, "with time, my defeat, they split into many, many different paths... I'm not sure what you can see, or what you did see, but _Kuro Suzaku's_ visions are taking a toll on you, Zeus' did too at first."

Kai made a slight choking noise before he composed himself.

"So you saw her."

Not a question, more of a statement Brooklyn reminded himself.

"I did, it was... disturbing." Brooklyn set the cup down, quietly observing Kai as he absorbed the last drops of the caffeinated liquid.

"What? To see her?" Kai had not meant that as a question, more like an outspoken cry of bitter thoughts. As it was, most people's perception of Kuro Suzaku seemed to be pure evil. Which is why Brooklyn's answer surprised him.

"No, to see you dying."

* * *

**A.C.:** And that's a wrap... probably the last regular update (ok it isn't that regular but I've updated... two times in a month!) you'll see for quite a while. Hey I have to go to school to you know. I'd be lucky if I could get out by four thirty . The lack of Yuriy/Kai-ness depresses me, it really does. I'll just have to fix that somehow T.T

**YuriyTalaIvanov:** It's still Tala/Kai. What did I do to Daichi?

**Kurosaisei:** Heh, actually that was my own little add in but I'm not quite sure. It's been a long time since I've seen the series and asf. Files suck. ;/


	4. Chapter 4: We could be happy

**A.C.:** I'm sorry ㅠㅠ but my computer died and I had to rewrite this chanpter while studying for exams that I know I'll fail and then on top of that my club at school demanded BL doujinshi and I've been trying not to strangle myself while drawing all the bed scenes (censored mind you) and then there was my birthday in which I had a nervous breakdown... ehh yeah... damn those balloons 

**Summary: **The dark phoenix is amongst them once more. Between emotions, hormones, therapy, and all around domestication, the Neo Borg will discover the truth explanations behind one Hiwatari Kai's revival...

**Warnings:**Slashy themes, all around insanity? Structure, grammar, much mistakes. Un-Betaed, uke-Kai and possible/guaranteed oocness. While I did see V-force and G-rev to completion, I missed most of season 1 so... yeah. (everytime I tried to watch it was as if the series was stuck on the White Tigers arc >.>)

**Pairings:** Yuriy/Kai, one-sided/mild Brooklyn/Kai, Takao/Kai, Boris/Kai

* * *

-

-

His thoughts swam like the cream in his coffee.

One leg of the spiral had melted away, turning the black liquid to brown, brown to chestnut, then chestnut to a soft shade of caramel that unwound itself against the Milky Way in his cup.

For a moment he idly wondered if that was how the universe came to be. How they all had come to be born. Imagine, someone stirring a cup of coffee; add a sugar cube or two and you'd have massive supernovas orbiting inside the cup.

'_Don't let go!'_

He shook his head, freeing himself of the thread of thoughts piling up. The coffee was cool, cool like the shade of mesmerizing emerald staring back at him from the other side. He should drink it; really, it was his favorite brand...

He pursed his lips against the rim then stopped.

No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't true; he had never liked coffee much. He had always preferred the sweeter taste of milk tea. The only reason he had stuck by coffee was because of the caffeine boost it gave him. The fact that it kept him from sleeping.

No sleeping meant no dreams, no dreams equaled no nightmares, and no nightmares equaled... sanity... something in himself to hold on against the oncoming tempest.

He swallowed the cold liquid, the web of chaotic thoughts going with it. He set the cup down on the corresponding dish, a pretty thing with cotton white blossoms. Brooklyn would have all the things he would need right here. But Kai hadn't spent years in his grandfather's company without recognizing a prison for what it was.

And a prison it was...

His vision fractured for a second and he blinked, rinsing away the fissure of amethyst surfacing briefly against the scarlet.

Brooklyn stood by the window, mask-smile present against the world. The sun was high, turning the normally ginger strands to citric orange.

"It's a nice day outside isn't it?"

Kai, Kai frowned, feeling the cold coffee churning in his stomach. There they were, the two black holes spinning towards each other. For what? To join? Combine perhaps? Or would they kill each other trying?

"Ah,"

The mask-smile disappeared.

-

-

"You never told me this would be a dangerous mission." Hissed Ivan as he stitched his upper arm and the nasty gash oozing against the skin. He winced everytime he felt the silver needle pierce his ruddy skin, everytime drawing out a bit more of the red pulsing beneath the surface. He bit the string before cutting a longer strand from the first-aid box. He looped the thread around the end of the needle, not having the patience to poke it through the minute hole. Then he began anew, only halfway finished.

Beside his mostly indisposed arm was a towel with a spot of blood in the middle. Sharp fragments of a broken bullet glittering in the flickering monitor.

"With the amount you were going to receive you should have been prepared." The other man was big, or seemed big (could have been some sort of a distortion by the camera) with bulging arms and shoulders. Not that he was the kind to judge a book by the cover, but definally not the kind who would need him to snitch this oh so top secret data. From the way how his employer's yellow dusted lips moved, they were not moving at all. Someone else was speaking, someone who did not want their identity exposed...

Typical business tycoons in a cliché chick flicks he watches on weekends.

"Look, I said that the chances of me actually succeeding was extremely low. And I told you that the most I would get would be a partial chunk of the data you wanted. And you accepted, I gave you roughtly 30 of it. Now if one or two of my f...partners were to join me it would be a completely different story." Ivan shook his head, mentally adding 'idiot' to this dialogue. He tied a knot at the end of his rather jagged stitching before carelessly throwing the needle and the remaining thread into the first-aid kit. He discreetly tapped the record button. The figure was mostly hidden by the shadows resulting from poor artificial lighting. He wasn't the one to pry but after seeing what some of the files he was supposed to steal, other files that were locked within the supercomputer he had hacked into...

"Look I did my research but they have bit-beasts," at this the figure on the otherside seemed to be taken aback, Ivan allowed himself a private smile before continuing. "Cyber-organic, presumably young, man-made." The indigo haired Russian threw the monitor a dry look before wiping away the excess blood. "Then on top of that they shoot at you. They have a secret to hide and they're not going to part with it easily." Even now he could still hear the sirens blaring in the distance.

"So you are saying you refuse this mission?" a flash of green in black behind the hulking blond.

"No" replied Ivan quickly, regretting the words that were about to follow. "I have to repay the favor." He patted his now bandaged arms. "I just want two friends brought in, think you can do that?" the thruth was that he did get more than the 30 he had supposedly risked his neck for. A folder titled 'KuroSuzaku'. Ivan narrowed his eyes as his employer nodded his affirmative.

"Last chance, don't mess it up this time."

The screen went blank. Why would someone want to dig up the past of what happened in the Balcov abbey some decades ago?

-

-

"Yes Yuriy, what is it?"

The redhead in question was currently propped up against the couch. His two legs stretched out on the coffee table with a maroon pillow cushioning the broken appendages. He imagined one of the maids or manservants got it for the elder from storage. He certainly couldn't imagine such a gharish excuse of a color surviving under his nose for long.

"I don't like it when you go to see _him_."

Kai rolled his eyes, slipping out of the woolen gray sweater.

"Ah, they asked me to keep him from going completely insane."

Yuriy snorted loudly to this.

"Why not send our hero Takao? The talk of friendship and love might keep the prettyboy down long enough to figure out how to deport him without buildings getting blown up... again."

Resentment,

That Takao had once again shown them all up by saving the world,

Resentment,

That the real players were not recognized, not given their due,

Resentment,

That once again they were pushed aside for something else.

"Exactly why I was volunteered."

They knew each other Brooklyn and Kai. (a little too much for comfort in Yuriy's humble opinion) Brooklyn knew Kai and Kai knew Brooklyn. They both knew Yuriy, Neo Borg and evertying in between; they knew the world wasn't sugar and spice like the others made it out to be. They knew that _they_ would never understand, prefering to jam _their_ fingers in _their_ ears and hum rather than to hear what they had to say.

And it hurt.

"You don't have to go everyday you know." Muttered Yuriy darkly; knowing that to abandon a person like Brooklyn into the care of such an ignorant child like Takao would spell a certain death. And that not even he, the one who could pose a larger threat than Balcov ever could to a nation (in terms of natural disasters and famine of course) coule leave it to be. "You're not his bloody baby-sitter."

"Ah but then I wouldn't be able to see you pouting all the time."

The look on Yuriy's face was one of surprise, priceless. Kai quietly cursed himself; he had not meant to say that out loud. Not meant to say anything to suggest a promise of tomorrow, of healing, of a future. But what better to get Yuriy's mind off things? Horomons were useful at... inopportunant times as he found out, and he had missed the quiet look of softness in Yuriy's eyes.

If only he could look into them...

-

-

"Will I be able to touch anyone... Without... changing them?"

Brooklyn smiled broadly. He curled his larger hand against Kai's paler ones. Kai had shed his gloves earlier as Brooklyn was all too powerful to be affected by a trivial thing and that it was too warm inside to wear them.

"Is that what you call it? Changing someone?"

Kai looked up at him challengingly, he had leaned away. The spell of peace broken, and yet their hands remained connected finger to finger, parting at the palms.

"What would _you_ call it?"

The smile broadened, green eyes twinkling Brooklyn brought their palms together.

"I would call it 'marking' someone."

"Heaven forbid..." commented Kai dryly,

"You can touch me." Brookly said softly. "You would never have to fear me changing, by your hands." Indeed the darkening flush was gone like drawings of chalk against the oncoming rain. The greeness in his eyes was as fresh as they had ever been, surrounded by smoke not of Kuro Suzaku's origin but of Zeus. "But all the same I suggest wearing fingered gloves."

The longer fingers closed against the shorter ones before letting go, abeit reluctantly.

-

-

_'Was I not enough?'_

_'Was I ... not enough?'_

Despair was an emotion he had come to know very well, something he identified himself with. Something that looked terrible on the older Russian's face.

Kai wanted to reach out so badly. To touch the snowy skin with his hands, replay throes of passion on which they had shakily built their relationship upon. He wanted... he wanted to...

Fire exploded behind his eyes, the maddened screech of anger shrill inside his head. He faltered momentarily, almost falling on his knees as the image of a giant firebird swallowed the blizzard and all its creatures. Froze momentarily as the ruch of black feathers claimed foothold on his stomach and cocooned his heart from the outside. A moment enough for Yuriy to see not a young man so confident and suave in his actions but a frightened boy, tossed in a storm like a fragile leaf.

"Kai..." the half-healed legs protested as Yuriy clutched the silver banged Russian into his arms, ignoring the shivers and trembles of a frightened animal as he tighted his hold around the shaking figure the redhead whispered, "I won't let you go, I won't, you're mine Kai and I don't like to share... I'm not letting you go." Slowlythe quaking ceased and as Yuriy collapsed on to his knees (stifling a yelp) Kai fell with him. Face buried in the long-sleeved shirt, breathing in the scent of the snow and the storm.

Or Yuriy.

"Yours," Kai said softly after a while, "Yours to play with, to keep, to abandon." Yuriy flinched. "Just like before... promises are meant to be broken aren't they? And I for one are sick of them."

"You promised Brooklyn didn't you?" said Yuriy quietly, not as a question but a statement.

"How'd you know that?" Kai's muffled voice replied,

"I guessed, I guessed that there was another reason you kept going back. Something you wanted." Kai was quiet.

"Yuriy, whatever you do don't hold on. Let go before it gets too high."

"Kai,"

"It's for your own good."

"The last time someone said that to me, I believe I was shut up in a tank for over a week." Countered Yuriy,

This elicited a weak chuckle from Kai. Yuriy smiled in response.

"Don't try to fight it... just let go."

"Kai..."

"Don't." Kai lifted his head off of Yuriy's chest, staring at the rehead youth with the eyes of a phoenix. Kai nearly wept in relief at the sight of the shade of aqua the elder teen's eyes had always been, but not here, not now. Yuriy's mouth parted once more.

"Kai..."

"I said don't."

Kai grabbed the paler hands; the younger teen's hands were gloved. That in itself was odd, Kai never wore fingered gloves...

"Please..." he brought the hands close and pressed his lips against the back of the leather-clad hands.

-

-

"Your legs will never heal at this rate."

"They'll never heal if I keep going back to that old hag."

Kai shrugged, setting a gloved hand on one of Yuriy's legs. The throbbing pain went away at the touch, like a swarm of rats being chased by a cat. Yuriy nearly purred as the hands moved up and down, confortingly rubbing the muscles to prevent atrophy.

"Why can't I stay home?" Yuriy snapped his fingers just as Kai's hands began to hover above the other leg. "You can be my nurse."

Kai shot him a glare and immediately began to massage the leg with more vigor than necessary.

"Or not," winced Yuriy, "Maybe we can convince Boris to be a nurse. He's such a girl anyways it wouldn't matter if we dressed him up in a bloody nurse's outfit."

Again a pause, quavering of the shoulders suggesting stifled laughter.

"...Aside from the fact I shudder to think of the impact of that idea on our society, Boris technically wouldn't be able to nurse you because Sergei would need 'extra' care."

"But he wants to be a doctor, no doctor gets sick..." Said Yuriy absentmindedly, "man I wish that old bag would break that rule and get terminally ill." Yuriy looked worriedly down at Kai who looked like he was having a series of convulsive fits. "Cancer maybe, or maybe I can give her a broken arm or two. Think she'd mind amputation?"

-

-

"You're in a good mood today."

"Ah so are you."

A series of kicks blocked easily,

"You and Yuriy kiss and make up?"

"...Not exactly."

A feint to the head, ignored

"You're smiling... what the hell's wrong with you?"

"...Nothing..."

Panting, locked together

"Ivan's calling for help."

"Why?"

"He says there's something important that he wants us to see..."

"Hn..."

"Call it a day?"

A nod,

"Boris?"

"Yeah Kai?"

"How would you like a nurse's outfit?"

"!...?...!"

* * *

A.C.: This last part seems too omake-ish...not much romance but some humor -squints- to be continued... 


	5. Chapter 5: Come back

**A.C.:** Return to school, like yay -- has anyone noticed? The linebreak button seems to be broken...

**Summary: **The dark phoenix is amongst them once more. Between emotions, hormones, therapy, and all around domestication, the Neo Borg will discover the truth explanations behind one Hiwatari Kai's revival...

**Warnings:**Slashy themes, all around insanity? Structure, grammar, much mistakes. Un-Betaed, uke-Kai and possible/guaranteed oocness

**Pairings:** Yuriy/Kai, one-sided/mild Brooklyn/Kai, Takao/Kai, Boris/Kai

-

-

The water gushed out of the faucet before draining into the sink below. Droplets of blood joined it, staining the steel sink in swirls pink before being washed away. Kai gasped, his fist in the mirror, other hand clutching his bare chest.

He opened his fist, knuckles raw red from the impact against the mirror. Behind him, a flight attendant knocked on the door, inquiring about his well-being. He spat a short 'fine' before peeling the rubber bottom off of the black queen in his hand.

-

-

"Here,"

Kai pushed the parcel towards the green-eyed youth in front of him.

"What is it?" asked Brooklyn, though he probably guessed if not knew what it was. Slowly the fingers pried the tape off the wrapping and produced a chess set.

"I'll be gone for a few days, so don't expect me anytime soon."

Brooklyn nodded amiably, smiling as he set the board.

Should the white ones be in front of him or the black? He decided that black suited Kai more. He inspected the black queen, marveling the delicate designs carved so painstakingly upon it. It made the white queen in comparison look dull, boring, not like Kai at all.

"Ah, I know. Still, come back soon."

The days turned cold with the upcoming winter. The trees were now bare, stripped of their once colorful coat of leaves. Drab and mottled brown littered the streets and here and there people were up sweeping the leaves into a neater pile.

Until the wind blew it away.

Kai stood up and turned towards the door. He put his jacket on and turned the doornob.

The wind blew in.

Kai's outfit was a little too thin to offer much protection against the chill, yet no one did much to change it. Small things in life they enjoyed, colors seemed brighter when the dark phoenix was there, feelings sharper.

"Ne Kai, catch." Without looking Kai caught it in midair, he held it up briefly in the fading sun before throwing a questioning look at Brooklyn. The redhead prodigy grinned softly, "It might come in handy."

"Brooklyn... tell me..."

Kai leaned against the doorway silhouetted against the pale sky.

-

-

"3...

2...

1...and clear!"

The body shook limply but otherwise did not move. The oxygen mask began to slip from the tanned face down to the side. Another jolt and the same result, then another, and another... minutes trickled by, then hours... and all faded into the night.

"Is he alright?"

"Will he be ok?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"What happened?"

The doctor was tired but made no show of it other than the slight droop of his shoulders and the slightly sweaty forehead. He gently pried off the inquiring hands one by one, too used to the frantic reactions of juxaposed loved ones.

"We managed to stablize him, but he's in a coma, we don't know when he will awake." The horrified look on the children's faces was enough to make him cringe and wish that he had sent a nurse in his stead. He took a deep breath, "I would like you to tell me what has happened to your young friend that made him end up this way."

-

-

"_I see you... let me hold you... let me save you..." _

Fires... and the laughter... a hand reached out, grabbed the other, held on... long as it could. The flames rose higher, laughter grew weaker.

"_You can't save me... no one can..."_

-

-

"I don't like it."

Sergei shrugged, undeterred from peeling apples. The yellow-green skin came off in a neat spiral; they drooped slightly in the blonde's hand before falling to the fruitbowl along with other peels from previous apples.

"You never have and you never will."

Now why is that such a depressing thought?

"How can you be so..." the redhead waved a hand around in midair, struggling for a word that would not come to him.

"Calm? Why can't you have some faith in them?"

Yuriy reluctantly grabbed an apple, an un-peeled one before biting into it. The apple was a little bruised, it was sweet, the juice dribbled down his chin. He took a napkin and wiped it away.

"I miss them, I worry for them." He threw the napkin back down on the table and added in an undertone, "Even Ivan."

"I worry for them too. But don't forget, they're Blitzkrieg, they're one of us. "

-

-

He drew the blade against his stomach, watching how the knife cut through the frontmost layer with ease. How blood welled up in droplets before drying, how the edges began to knit under _Kuro Suzaku's_ influence, the cut spitting purple poison as it sealed into perfection.

Kai cut himself again, deeper this time, but not enough even to reach for the layer of stomach muscles. Then he dug even deeper, gasping in pain as warm red gushed out, spreading over his hands and dripping to the floor. He leaned briefly against the wall, pulling out the paper towels and spreading them on the floor. The cut was already scabbed over, the sketch of_ Kuro Suzaku _on his stomach, her mark on him, even further up his stomach.

Sighing, he mopped the blood up, stuffing the bloodied tissues down the garbage chute. He looked at himself in the mirror wondering how and when he had gotten so pale. Inverse of _Kuro Suzaku_, _Suzaku_ winked from her place facing away from her estranged, dark twin. Kai fingered the scarlet lines gently, tiniest smile gracing his face as he slipped into his shirt and jacket.

'_I'm still here...'_

'_I love you...'_

-

-

"Brooklyn?"

Garland dropped in on the pordigy's home to a strange sight. The redhead was sitting on the couch as usual, his hands tucked neatly on his lap and his cup long since emptied. In front of him was a chess set with the pieces colored boldly in black and white, and as the blue-eyed boxer sat down he noticed that the pieces in front of him, the black, were missing their queen.

Garland raised an eyebrow inquiringly; Brooklyn merely shrugged still smiling in an oddly mystic quality.

"He's gone, but... he'll come back."

-

-

"He said he was going out for a walk..." voiced Kane in monotone after much fidgeting and guilty glances from the others. "He never liked being indoor much; just for sleeping maybe... he always liked being outside... I should have gone with him..." and the blue haired boy fell silent, dropping his head. Salima scooted closer to comfort him, trying to hide the tears she showered on the back of his neck and his hair, wiping her face as Jim continued where Kane left off.

"When he didn't come back in time for dinner, we went out to look for him. We asked several kids and found that he went to the park and was blading there." The short blonde bit his lips, "when we got there all the kids were standing around in a circle with Goki lying in the middle. He was conscious for a bit and he was so... cold." Jim shivered, frightened at the thought of his best friend. "Just _so cold..._"

-

-

"Well that only took like forever, what did you do? Seduce a stewardess?" asked Boris jokingly as he drained a bottle of wine he had bought with his fake ID.

Kai shot him a half-hearted glare before sitting down on his seat.

The seats were stained with who knows what and smelled slightly moldy. Boris could have sworn whatever stuffing that was in the seats had bunched up into lumpy balls behind him. And they still had five hours left out of their ten-hour flight.

"Something I ate I think."

Boris frowned, now he really knew something was wrong. Kai never used the words, 'I think' it just wasn't in his nature to do so.

"I ate the same thing as you and you don't see me holed up in the bathroom for an hour."

Setting his lips in a straight line, Kai looked away.

"Drop it Boris."

But Boris was no fool, he could smell the familiar metalic tang buried in the Russian's slim form. He was sure, if he searched the bathroom, there would be blood, lots of it. And it would all be Kai's.

_But why...?_

-

-

"_...Did you see her?"_

_Brooklyn smiled pleasantly, his hair burning red in the dying sun. _

"_He is beautiful," In the light Kai looked gorgeous, the silver bangs lit up in a copper flare. Warm colors looked good on Kai. "He is dangerous and exciting."_

_-_

_-_

**Ayatsuji: **aww thanks. Eh, you probably won't have to wait a long time for the next chapter -crosses fingers- I can probably write during English and fib that I'm taking... uh notes. -cough and goes to work on the next chapter-

**innocentsmile:** -solemnly- it is probably one of the few moments in the chapter where people are happy. Enjoy it while you can I think :P

**yuriytalaivanov**: Eeee... sorry to make you wait so long ;; hope you enjoyed this chapter

**Ketsueki-Ken**: That is a good threat... I updated so you'll have to review-:D


	6. Chapter 6: Meetings

**A.C.:** -Stares in disbelief- ...You know, when I started writing this chapter... this is not what I had intended... ehh... so how did I get 7000+ words? Last of the teaser-ish chapters are over I think... -gets a headache- a bit more romance in the next chapter so until then, enjoy...

**Summary: **The dark phoenix is amongst them once more. Between emotions, hormones, therapy, and all around domestication, the Neo Borg will discover the truth explanations behind one Hiwatari Kai's revival...

**Warnings:**Slashy themes, all around insanity? Structure, grammar, much mistakes. Un-Betaed, uke-Kai and possible/guaranteed oocness

**Pairings:** Yuriy/Kai, one-sided/mild Brooklyn/Kai, Takao/Kai, Boris/Kai(friendship)

* * *

_He saw a cat hunting once. He saw how the cat's black body arched in midair as it pounced on an unsuspecting bird. How it quickly snapped the bird's neck and tore its wing into pieces with small but sharp fangs. He didn't know why but it disturbed him more than it should have._

-

-

After a grumpy Boris, insomniac Kai, and a hyperactive Ivan, the explanations were made on exactly what their employer demanded. Boris raised his hand sarcastically if there could be such a thing.

"Why the hell are we after again?"

Ivan fought the urge to slap his forehead. A grumpy Boris was often uncooperative, and it seemed that both he and Kai were suffering the effects of jetlag. The shortest member of the Neo Borg decided to cut to the chase.

"Fine, you want to know why we're after it? Because it concerns the Balcov Abbey, it contains information on us as the Blitzkreig and as Neo Borg." Boris snapped wide awake and Kai turned his face halfway looking askance at the short Russian. Ivan met the bluenette's gaze halfway with a glare, "And yes Kai, it does concern _Kuro Suzaku._"

-

-

Dressed in a thick woolen sweater and a pair of jeans not many would have connected the redhead to the genius blader of BEGA. Indeed, such celebrities seemed so unreal, too god like, to actually come down from their chariot of clouds and sun to mingle with the norm. But there he was in full view of everyone, Brooklyn feeding pigeons. The white and gray and black birds cooed as he spread the feed amongst them. A few children noticed this and ran between the flock laughing gaily.

Smiling, he crumpled the empty feedbag and tossed it in a trashcan. He then began to walk towards the wooded area a little past the grassy fields. The birds followed, passing from the feeding grounds and harassing children to beyond Brooklyn's reach. Far beyond the horizon and towards the slowly setting sun.

"I wonder..."

Smiling he tossed up a white and gray blade, it landed in the grass and leaves hidden from view. Brooklyn continued on walking.

-

-

'Knock, knock.'

"Done yet?" asked Boris bored as he tapped unnecessarily on the wall. The sound of jetting water stopped. The platinum haired Russian's hypersensitive ears picked up every single droplet of water that hit the floor.

"Yeah I'm done."

Kai came out, face wet and free of blue shark fins. His hair was too dripping with water; it had been dyed in an odd combination of black and brown to imitate an Asian who had highlighted their hair. He was wearing contacts, a shade of deep blue that reminded him of Sergei. Boris barked out a short laughter,

"Looks good on you, now move over so I can do mine." Kai shrugged over, shaking his head so the water fell on his shoulders. Boris noticed that Kai was still wearing his shirt even though it was half way soaked through and clinging to Kai's stomach like a second skin. Lips pressed into a thin line Boris went in to the bathroom carrying a bottle of hair dye and some black attire, he did not come out for a long time.

-

-

"Could be worse I suppose," sniffed Boris as he held back a sneeze. "They can afford the national guards to guard this place but they can't do a little spring cleaning every now and then..." Kai wiggled and twisted as they cut corners, pausing as some people walked beneath them chattering loudly.

"They can't fit in the ventilation," replied Kai amused as he observed the men fighting over some statistics on paper. When they disappeared from view, he twisted the screws until the lid came off with a groan. "And they're too lazy." Hugging the heavy lid close to himself, Kai jumped down landing quietly.

"Works for us I guess," shrugged the blond as he followed. They left the lid in the corner where it couldn't be easily be seen before running down the halls.

-

-

"This is it?"

Boris raised a brow,

"Too easy for you huh, what did you expect? We're not shooting a movie you know." Some furious typing as Kai sighed,

"It's... nothing... I thought..."

They accessed the database without much trouble and began downloading into a special CD Ivan had given them. Boris turned around to face the other,

"Yes?"

"The stairs," Kai replied, almost as if getting the words out of his mouth was a difficult process. "I... there was something wrong with them." They had glimpsed the main staircase while sneaking down the halls. Though they hadn't been seen, they deemed it unsafe to go that way and turned back.

"Stairs are stairs," Boris said slowly, almost as if he sensed where the conversation was going.

"There's something wrong with them."

The screen flickered and Boris turned back to type in a few more commands.

"Is it dangerous?" when Kai didn't reply Boris asked again. "Is it dangerous to us?" In the shadow's Kai's face tilted downwards.

"Yes."

-

-

"There's got to be something more to it than this." Muttered Salima as she frowned at the field of empty bey bowls. The wind picked up, swept across them all and caught the end of her leather jacket. Her blonde companion sat beside her, knees tucked under his chin.

"Why do you say that?" asked Jim shakily. The hospitalization of his best friend had taken toll; Jim hadn't been same since then. Salima put a reassuring hand on the small blonde's shoulders.

"Goki wasn't a world-class blader, but he wasn't a pushover either." She got up and walked down to a bright red dish and launched Cyber Driger into it. The white and gray blade spun idly in circles. "So, in order to put the big guy in such a state... A. The blader is world class." The blade gave a small jump to punctuate her words, "B. the guy or gal is no stranger to brute force... and there's always..." the blade jumped up and the redhead caught it in mid air. "Cyber Dranzer, the opponent must have to be a monster." She continued flatly, "and we have more than one suspect in Japan as I speak." She pictured the metallic bird, the flashing green eyes and blade like feathers.

"But Salima," Jim tried, "It could be something else, I mean... Takao would never let that happen." In terms of power and defense, there was precious little that could get through the metal armor of the digital bird. Takao as well as the other member of his ragtag team were one of the few that could take down the cyborg bit beast.

"Takao is human, he can't be everywhere!" Salima snapped, Jim flinched and drew back instinctively. Salima softened slightly at the sight. "You saw parts of the tournament. We all did, it was the only thing on TV when turned it on. They're strong... all of them, stronger than all of us put together." She shook her head, her full ponytail shaking thickly in the air.

"Don't you want to help Goki? If we got Cyber Dranzer back... maybe..." for the first time Salima's gray eyes wavered, revealing fear in its gray depths. Fear that she was wrong, fear that she would be rejected for one thing she thought she must do.

"What do we do?"

-

-

"Ouch,"

"Shit"

Their heads knocked against each other's and Kai fell back down on the floor.

"Get in a little deeper, I need some room."

"Alright." And Boris scooted further back in the ventilation.

"There they are!" Kai whirled around; perhaps the first syllables of a warning call forming on his lips as the bullets ripped through his slim body and buried themselves into the walls. Boris froze, hearing the crack of the gunshots but not being able to see. He held his head out of the vent long enough to see the broken form of the silver phoenix slumping against the wall.

"KAI!"

-

-

With a resounding crash, the navy mug with the glow-in-the-dark constellation of Virgo shattered on the floor. The wood absorbed the bitter coffee eagerly as Yuriy swore and tried to wipe it all up with a box of Kleenex. Swearing once again as he cut his finger on a broken fragment he suddenly realized someone was beside him helping.

"Are you alright sir?" the girl was pretty, in a vaguely vapid way. But the concern in her wide hazel eyes was so sincere that he found he couldn't quite brush her off.

"It's nothing," he muttered. His heart pounded wildly giving him a slight migraine. He gently pressed his palm over his chest. "It's nothing." Yuriy repeated dropping the last shard of the mug into her dustpan...

-

-

A pink crested falcon lunged out with her talons stretched forward. Her shrill scream stunned the men long enough for her to whip out the guns from their hands, a tempest of blue feathers scattering the guns across the floor. Her master jumped down behind her, a mask of twisted fury upon his normally impassive features. Boris opened his mouth, "Falborg...!"

"**_Stop_**" and everything burst into black flames leaving a trace of burnt grease and pieces of bloodied skin on the floor. Boris looked back at his fallen comrade, Falborg as a feathery mantle guarding him from the ebon flames. Kai's lips had turned black in the scorching air, and then back to red, till whatever darkness remaining on his face had disappeared completely.

A single bullet fell out of Kai's slightly parted mouth. It pinged and bounced on the floor before rolling towards Boris. Another dropped out but then no more. The remnants of Kai's blood crinkled and evaporated into the air. Kai looked down at himself seemingly stunned; he looked back up meeting Boris' startled eyes.

Kai's eyes flickered red, their eyes met and Boris could feel Falborg's presence retreating unconsciously. The eyes flickered violet to grey before finally settling on red. The silence was deafening.

"Bryan," hissed Kai suddenly, clutching at the multiple bullet wounds on his body. "We still have a mission to complete." Another bullet slipped passed the leather-clad fingers, it fell on the floor splashing red on the cold marble.

"Screw mission, Ivan… Ian," he hastily corrected, "didn't ask for us to be killed." The sky colored raptor eyed both wearily from her perch on Boris' shoulders before disappearing. "They shouldn't have found us in the first place."

"No, they shouldn't have." Said Kai blandly; putting on a blank front as he slung an arm around the taller's shoulders.

"The employer?" they began to walk down the hallway, mindful of the spots of soot where living, breathing humans had once stood, not wanting to dwell upon the odd hap penance.

"Perhaps..."

"Listen Hiwatari," Boris snapped, "I've put up with some weird shit till this point and I want to know what the hell's going on." They hurried past the corner towards where the stairs would be. "I know what you do in the bathroom and I want to know why. Jesus Kai even Ivan noticed it. Kai... we're you're family, you're the only thing we've got."

Shouts came down from the hallway. Boris began to half-pull, half-drag the silver banged teen, they bolted for the main stairs and found...

"Mention this to anyone and I will cut off your tongue before you can say Dranzer."

Kai smirked,

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Well, well, well, it's party time..." Boris muttered. No doubt the brief images of Falborg were already on tape. He loaded up his hand gun, popping Falborg's bit into the butt of the gun and aiming at the eyes of a particularly ugly looking cyborg specimen.

"Wait," Kai swore colorfully before shoving his hands down his pockets and retrieving a gray pit. He held it out towards Boris temptingly. "No one knows I have him, use him." Boris shrugged taking Falborg back out and fingering the chip in Kai's palms. Already, too many had gathered at the foot of the stairs just waiting for their next move.

"Does he have a name?"

Boris pulled the trigger.

The blonde haired Russian's eyes bulged slightly at the unexpected force of impact. Apparently no one else had expected it either as they bounced off the sides of the speeding torpedo that was Kai's mysterious bit beast.

"_Yuuya_..." Kai whispered. The metallic bit beast roared. Its scream a hollow, ghastly, twisted echoes of the original. Where Suzaku and Kuro Suzaku had expressed grace as well as power in a delicate balance of dark and light, it seemed that the only thing that Cyber Dranzer was made for was emphasizing brute force.

"Come on," If they couldn't go down the only where to go was up. As the digital bird wreaked havoc ripping though metal like they were paper, Boris pulled Kai up the many stairs outlining the building, cursing whoever had made the designs and layout. Few floors up and a trail of corpses later Boris pried open the doors to an elevator, thanking whichever deity for keeping the elevator down stairs that day.

Without being told what to do, Kai latched onto a thick cord, Boris followed hanging on just above Kai and cut the opposite cord in two.

The effect was instantaneous; they were being rushed up the multiple floors as the elevator descended. They managed to leap off as the ascend slowed down with the crash of the elevator. Precariously balancing on the non-existent ledge, Boris pried the doors apart again, barely registering that they were on the 37th floor.

"Next trick," gasped out Kai as he got onto his feet, "none like that please."

Boris barked out a short laugh,

"Afraid of heights now are we?"

Kai seemed to have recovered sufficiently between the point in which he was shot and where they were faint against the floor, quite not believing they had held on to an elevator line up nearly 40 stories. He shot his platinum-turned-blonde friend a glare before reaching for the windows.

"Come on, we're up high enough. If we're lucky, they'll be too busy watching Yuuya to look up."

"Right." Sighed Boris eyeing Kai curiously, realizing that the subtle request for Boris to launch Falborg.

But then he hadn't seen Suzaku in a while... wait... what happened to Suzaku?

The bit powered bullet crashed through the window, all they saw was a pair of sky colored wings before talons carried them off into the sky.

-

-

The door opened and a hand shot out, grabbing Ivan's neck and holding him off the floor.

"Boris...! Eck!"

Ivan kicked the air but the blonde haired Russian showed no signs of relenting. Kai squeezed himself in through the doorway and watched their antics from the window, shifting the blinds a bit to look down the crowded highway.

"Boris, killing Ivan will not solve our problems."

"Sure it will," Boris snarled, but he let go and the short Russian landed with a loud 'thump' on the carpeted floor. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"

"It's not my fault ok? Someone overrode the system and...mmph!" Boris stuffed the CD in Ivan's mouth before brushing his hair back noticing the sticky blood and sweat and whatever that clung on to his blond hair. Ivan spat the CD out glaring at the falcon. "This is abuse you know."

"It's abuse to call us out without warning," countered Boris. Ivan pouted,

"You smell like blood, was it that bad?"

"Worse, but don't worry your little head off, the blood's not mine." Boris looked down at the huffy bluenette, "sorry, not dying anytime soon I'm afraid."

"What were you going to say Ivan?" asked Kai from his place by the window.

"Someone else infiltrated from the other side of the building, they set off the alarms."

"I didn't hear anything."

"Did you seriously think that they would set off something like fire alarms?" the worry disappeared from Ivan's tone. The short Russian was loading CD into his precious laptop to make copies.

"Hey it never hurts to hope, anything new out there Kai?"

-

-

"_They escaped?"_

"_I see them..."_

"_Shall we proceed?"_

"_Yes, he's only..."_

-

-

"Dammit Boris!"

The blonde Russian had bullied Kai onto a king sized bed and held him there, struggling to take off the holey shirt to assess the damage that had been done to the phoenix.

"I told you, I'm fine!"

"I don't care if your guardian bit beast is a fucking phoenix! People don't go walking around with bullets stuck in their body!"

Sound of tearing and the smooth expanse of Kai's stomach was laid bare in the air. Kai chuckled darkly at the stunned expression on Boris' face.

"Satisfied Boris?"

Lines of two phoenixes stretched across the stomach. One in the cloak of fiery red and the other in inverse colors of black racing for Kai's heart in a flurry of smoke and flames.

Two phoenixes rose from Kai's hips, necks arching and heads pointed away from each other. Their wings flared out magnificently, meeting in an elegant arch that continued to the middle of Kai's back. Their mouths open in a ceaseless scream, their only objective seemed to be to reach Kai's heart first. They were only up to barely above Kai's belly button, but knowing how much time had passed between the international beyblading tournaments till now... Boris knew it was only a matter of weeks before one of the spirits claimed hold of Kai's heart. Boris had a sinking feeling in his stomach that it wasn't going to be Suzaku.

His long fingers traced the scarlet lines, the long feathers and the finer gold crest. Saw how the eye seemed to be piercing through his very soul as he traced past the red and touched the darkness, felt the cold, withdrew briefly before continuing with Kai watching his every move.

He saw how the black lines spat purple and copper poison, even before he touched them, leaving greenish hue when the warmth had passed. He saw the newly healed slits of skin, all across Kuro Suzaku's neck as she made the pilgrimage to the heart of her host. His finger made its way toward the curve of her beak before Kai gave a small jerk and deterred him from completing the outline.

"Tell me the truth..."

'_None of the half truth or sugar coated lies, I need the truth, and I don't have much time...'_

Kai was smiling, a one with a sense of dementia creeping on to his face. The one they had all worn at least once in their lifetime.

The brunette Japanese-Russian leaned up, the small puffs of breath warm against the reddening shell Boris' ear.

"**_Afraid yet?"_**

-

-

"We have company," announced Kai quietly.

The light flickered, and then died. From the space between the blinds, they could all see, as far as their eyes allowed, how the lights on buildings went out one by one. Hair rose on Boris' back, and he looked up, eyes glowing like whirlpools of light in the darkness.

"We need to get out of here."

Ivan cursed as he dumped all essentials in his briefcase. Taking care to disconnect his laptop from the wires, he pried it open in half before taking out the hard drive and hastily put it in a zip lock bag. He then attempted to make the laptop look as whole as possible before holding up a gun.

"Where to?"

Boris shook his head, eyes devoid of the glow that was in there before.

"Away from here,"

"Our plane doesn't leave until tomorrow and even then we're on different flights." Kai quietly pointed out, tucking his bag in the crook of his arms.

"We don't have that much time."

"Falborg?" Asked Ivan though he already knew the answer. The beast spirit was too tired and even then it would be too dangerous to make such a journey.

"Not over this kind of distance."

"Do we have any contacts in America?"

Kai shook his head,

"None near enough."

Boris licked his lips nervously. He slung his faded gray bag over his shoulders and smirked at the younger two before him.

"Say Kai... when you said no more tricks..."

-

-

Kai ran down the hall bypassing other people who filled out in the hallway to see what all the commotion was about. A distant scream from the way he came from alerted him that his comrades have already made their escape, now to make his own. He tilted his head sideways; a bullet strays past his ear and shatters the window that seems miles away from him. Kai was glad, this was no game, and the glass wouldn't even crack if he threw all his weight and then some upon it. Amongst the gasps and shouts of horror, he dived through the broken glass to a freefall some dozens of stories off the ground.

He fell head first, body arching gracefully against the biting wind. He saw his feet pointed upwards and he saw a pair of green eyes staring at him unblinkingly from under a tattered but familiar hood. _Yuuya_ caught him and set him down on the ground, in the distance he saw mini tornados forming from the clouds. He smirked and looked up, the shards of glass falling but never hitting him. He dashed off into the alleyway, moments later a giant shadow followed the trail of his scent.

-

-

The green eyed boy tails him but is soon lost in the vast concrete jungle he had run so hastily in to. He can't risk being seen, regrettable, but the boy would have to die. He aimed his gun between the cloaked shoulder blades but soon froze as the tip of a silver blade poked at his jaw.

A voice hissed into him hidden in the cloak of perfume and darkness.

"Unless you want me to cut off that nose of yours you **will** stay still." The voice positively drips with the threat of pain and dark seduction. The green eyed boy smiled grimly as he completed a perfect flip in midair and landed gracefully on his feet in front of him. The two had him cornered, Ivan backs into the wonderfully firm (if he had time to think about it) breasts of the girl with the knife. Both pairs of green eyes narrowed and the girl tightened her hold on the knife. The girl demanded again,

"Where is he?"

Ivan shrugged feeling self-conscious in such a vulnerable position. He raised his hand, slowly enough that the girl wouldn't perceive it as a threat, then he slammed his goggles down on his eyes earning an odd look from the green eyed boy.

"Hey, you guys have done such a great job so far; don't let me cramp your style huh?" he grinned cheekily as he heard the girl grit her teeth in anger. The boy held out his launcher, aiming it at the Russian's face.

"Just answer us and we won't hurt you, much."

"So you can sense the bit beasts can you?" the boy flinched at this remark but held his launcher steady. The knife pressed harder against his neck, not enough to draw blood but enough to offer him pain. Of course they wouldn't be able to find him, thought Ivan dryly. According to what Boris had been saying, the slate haired blader hadn't been using Suzaku since they had left Japan.

"I wouldn't waste my breath if I were you." The girl breathed into his ear, the green eye boy looked irate.

"Just kill him Miriam; no one will know if we dump him in a ditch somewhere."

How rude.

"Tell me," Ivan growled out trying to twist his neck out of the way. "Can you sense created bit beasts as well?" the girl's eyes widened as she quickly withdrew her hands as if she had been scalded.

"Joseph, run!" understanding dawned in the boy's eyes and he jumped towards the pipes above them as Miriam climbed the verandas. Ivan smiled, amused at the progression. In a violet lightning, a forked tongue whipped out to capture them both. Barely grazing their smooth skin with the venomous fangs before two other bit beasts jumped into the fray.

-

-

The wind was overpowering and all-consuming. In the eye of the storm he was invincible; no one could hurt him here, no one!

"So you're our employer?"

Boris was unimpressed as the bulky blond came charging into the sandstorm. The Russian simply spun out of the way and delivered a sharp kick to the man's stomach. A flash of light and Vortex Ape stood impassively over the crouched form of Dunga. Falborg made her own appearance, her presence strengthening the chaotic winds.

"The phoenix belongs to us."

-

-

"I can't find him!" hollered Ivan as he slammed his goggles down on his face. They had moved out of the eye of a tornado. He could still see some people, late in the discovery of the winds, dive into their cars. The sand polished the buildings and broke the glass, after being struck by an umpteenth glass Ivan dually noted they should head for cover. Tornados weren't common up this alley for sure.

"Good!" Boris hollered back, "If you can't find him, they can't either!" Ivan had to give Boris credit for somehow moving in the bitter wind with his eyes closed. The falcon tamer had stopped bothering to wipe his eye after grains of sand had lodged into them and began walking on instincts alone. But was that enough to find the final member of their group?

"Can't you do something?" They went into a building eliciting surprised gasps from frightened refugees. It was probably like a scene from a movie for them. The world was about to end and only a handful of protagonists willing to save the people from annihilation. In the background, the black-and-white TV announced that most of downtown had been evacuated and urged the remaining people to stay indoors.

"Like...?"

"This is so messed up," complained Ivan loudly as they sat down on a cushion wringing dust out of their ears. "I just know Yuriy and Sergei are going to chew us out, a tornado in New York? If I'm lucky maybe they'll just shoot me."

"Not _us_," Boris stressed, "Just you." But even the blond Russian had to admit that this mission had gone awry. They were not supposed to use their bit beasts, they had. They were not supposed cause a scene but they had abet indirectly on TV. And they were not supposed to lose Kai but... "I'm going to go look for him, stay here."

Ivan looked up at his older teammate tiredly,

"When will you be back?"

"When the storm stops."

-

-

Cyber Dranzer raked his talons across the feline's back, cutting from shoulder to tail in professional precision that left half the spine open in the air. The swift winds were confined to the downtown area and even then they were beginning to die. Here, away from prying eyes of panicked citizens of New York, they could fight without hiding. And Kai was willing to give them a hell of a fight and then some as a sort of a retribution for this day.

Flash Leopard screamed as purple and foamy liquid, a bit beast's blood, streamed out of the critical wound. Somewhere behind them Ozuma had fallen into his knees clutching his pulsing shoulder. Yuuya screeched in triumph and rocketed skywards before turning to dive. Kai snarled holding the other teen up by the collar before slamming him into the pavement.

"Why are you following me?"

"You're no longer fit to carry Suzaku; we're here to retrieve it."

"You have no right..."

With an odd groan of bending metal, Yuuya's wings folded beneath Flash Leopard's claws. The metal bird began to melt as the fire began to pour over him like dark waters when violet feline ran in furious circles around him. Distracted Kai turned to look at the metal phoenix in the circle of fire, he didn't notice Flash Leopard's approach until it was too late.

The blow flayed his back open. Ozuma quickly twisted out of Kai's grip and delivered a debilitating kick to the neck, effectively snapping the phoenix's head onto the pavement. Kai let out a choke before being slammed into the concrete by one of Flash Leopard's enormous paws. Black claws popped out on both side of his head to grind on the broken street, Kai snarled and spat blood but didn't move.

"Normally you shouldn't have felt anything from Flash Leopard, perhaps a little tear in your clothing but you... you're anything but normal aren't you?"

Kai winced as the long claws on either side of his head pushed him further into the dented concrete. The purple foam still flowed freely down the ebony fur dripping down onto his head along with traces of crimson flames. Yuuya screeched weakly from the back unable to free himself from the fires.

Green eyes narrowed in pleasure and the short teen began to close in on the duo.

"I see now, that's why your little fight with Zeo had such an effect on you. That's why in the last tournament you..."

"Shut up." Kai growled beneath the leopard's enormous paws. Ozuma's lips quirked upwards.

"Make me Hiwatari." The winds stirred once more, skating around Ozuma's ankles in bands of dusty ribbons before settling down. Kai snarled, hands itching reaching out to punch the shorter teen's face in. Just to wipe the all-knowing smirk from the bastard's face. A warning growl rumbled in Flash Leopard's chest but Kai paid no heed as Ozuma knelt down in front of him.

"You really don't learn do you?"

With an angry scream a feathered bullet slammed into the violet leopard's head and Ozuma was blown backwards with the sheer force of it. A hand pulled Kai out from the cracked impression in the concrete.

"Ivan was right; they can't sense artificial bit beasts." Said Boris matter of factly as Kai dusted himself off. "They should really pay attention to what's going on around them."

Falborg had driven the two into a corner. Flash Leopard was crouching weakly, too tired from the earlier fight with Cyber Dranzer. The child leader of the Saint Shields looked at the raptor unflinchingly. With a content groan Cyber Dranzer collapsed into nothingness.

"We need to get out of here, where's Ivan."

Boris shrugged, his shoulders rolling easily. The early fight with Dunga all but forgotten, he sauntered over towards a surprisingly undamaged payphone. Kai rolled his eyes, the other Russian was about to call collect, Ivan was going to have a fit. Watching Ozuma as Falborg stared him down Kai noticed a strange item clenched almost casually in the short teen's fingers. Something within him recoiled at the sight; the word 'danger' hammered his head. Bit beasts couldn't feel fear but they felt anxiety, and they knew danger.

"SUZAKU!"

The summon of the bit beast was like a beacon through the darkness. All across city, those who wielded bit beasts looked towards the city's edge as Suzaku shielded the three with one flap of her mighty wings. The odd trinket held in Ozuma's hand was knocked out and lost somewhere on the streets. Strange words formed on the green eyed teen's lips but with a resounding force, Suzaku had all but erased them. Falborg and Flash Leopard shook, Falborg let out an approving note before disappearing. The latter of the two whimpered in pain before melting away.

"Don't try anything funny," said Kai darkly, still reeling from the recoil of summoning his bit beast. "Or I'll set something even worse than Suzaku on you." Suzaku had assumed the same stance Falborg had taken just moments before. Falborg had been tired from her early battles, Suzaku was not, or if she did feel fatigue didn't show it through her vibrant plumage. Ozuma couldn't believe that Suzaku was in front of him and yet he couldn't seal her.

Boris placed a hand on Kai's shoulders and like magic the tension in his body left him. With a shaky voice Kai asked,

"Well?"

"We're going, the storms' almost gone anyways." Kai nodded and walked towards Ozuma, going through Suzaku's crimson tails. It was almost as if... Suzaku was being absorbed by the bluenette-turned-brunette. The clouds of burrowed into Kai's body and vanishing, the aquiline bit beast's head was the only thing visible and fading as Kai brought a gun down to Ozuma's stomach.

"This isn't over Hiwatari."

"Maybe not, but until next time here's a parting gift." And Kai shot the other teen in the stomach.

-

-

"They'll be looking for us, and probably all the flights are cancelled until they figure out just what happened." Announced Boris dramatically as they stood on the rooftop of some unnamed building. Behind him, Ivan was explaining the situation to Sergei and Yuriy alternatively, hopefully lessening their 'punishment' when they set foot down back in Japan. "Any ideas?"

Kai stuck open one eye. The red eyed teen was still mulling over using Suzaku against Ozuma.

"One,"

"I probably won't like it." Sighed Boris resignedly as he polished his gun.

"Probably not."

"Well let's have it."

Kai rolled his eyes skyward.

-

-

It wasn't much of a sensation as he was feeling. If he was feeling that is. Wait that didn't make sense at all... Ivan watched the short flags of black, shady things pass over his arms, complete series of loops before drafting upwards and floating down. He was pretty sure he was falling then... he wasn't. Really there was nothing to indicate that he was anywhere at all, he couldn't see anyone either though he was pretty sure Kai was next to him. Had he been a lesser man he would have had a breakdown at the sheer chaos of this place but then he had gotten far used to Wyborg, Boris, Kai, Yuriy, Falborg, Boris, Wolborg, Sergei, Boris, Seaborg, and etcetera to be shaken by a bit of shadows. Ok, more than a bit.

Then he fell, hard.

Kai and Boris landed on top of him.

-

-

There were precious few things in life that surprised Brooklyn, apparently, having two people appear out of the ceiling and landing on the floor by his feet wasn't one of them. Sadly, Garland had no such immunity to supernatural happenings and immediately jumped up into a defensive position.

"Ah Kai, how nice of you to join us. Hope your mission went well."

Boris twitched and Ivan groaned from underneath the pile. Not to say that the two taller Russians were heavy but they were lean, not thin, their muscles just so happened to weigh more than they looked.

"Kai, get off of me."

Kai ran a shaky hand through his brown and black hair before crawling off the prone form of his navy haired friend. Boris rubbed his eyes a few times before sitting up and finding out that he should have stayed down because the world seemed to have taken liking to spinning unnecessarily around him.

"Kai, Boris? Ivan? What are they doing here!"

"Borrowing a cup of sugar," replied Ivan sarcastically. "You guys were the closest."

Garland looked them up and down, taking in the nightmarish black attire and dyed hair.

"What have you guys been doing?"

"None of your business." Grunted Boris, "We should really get going."

Garland stood in front of the door way cocking his head and tapping his foot impatiently.

"I think not."

-

-

Ozuma winced as Miriam finished tying the bandages and threw the bloodied rag into a bin. Around them, the two other members of Saint Shields were also licking their wounds. Joseph in particular had carved in deeper lines in his arm to let the poison flow out. Miriam had done the same and was waiting for the bleeding to stop in between sucking some of it out.

"I can't believe we lost him." Spoke up Dunga loudly after he finished putting on a last band-aid. Miriam shot him a cool glare before washing down her leg with a bottle of water.

"So we can't sense artificial bit-beasts, looks like someone did their homework." Miriam tossed her head, letting her blue hair cascade down her back. She ran a hand through it once before tying it up into a high ponytail.

"We've never really been able to sense artificial bit-beasts, first time someone's taken an advantage of it though." Said Joseph carefully stitching up his wounds with surgical precision asserted his experience in the past with such results from battles. "It's a weakness; I'm not sure what to make of it."

"It's never been a problem before," Dunga pointed out brusquely. "Our target has always been the four constellations."

"Our target has always been the deities..." corrected Ozuma, shaking off Miriam's hands. "But if the artificial bit beasts make a stand against us..."

"We'll just beat em'" Dunga dismissed carelessly. "What's so frightening about a metal birdie?"

"The fact that we were not able to land a single hit on Blitzkreig for one." Replied Miriam dryly as she gave Ozuma's bandages a fierce tug. The black and red haired leader gave a pained grunt before throwing the bluenette a glare. Miriam gave him an innocent look over her shoulders before moving away to help her younger brother.

"We've always known that the Neo Borg were dangerous, didn't think they would interfere though."

"What about the Tri-generation of America? If we want to take back Genbu, it'll be a hassle getting through all of them."

"They're small fries compared to Neo Borg; didn't you see what happened in the international tournament held in Russia three years ago?"

"Not to mention Kai holds more than one bit beasts..."

"I believe," said Ozuma carefully, capturing the attention of his teammates. "We need a good look at those files Blitzkreig had so kindly dug up for us."

"Why?"

There was a flash of violet lightning. Dunga fell over backwards as the image of Flash Leopard swiped at his head, intending to knock his head off. The blond screamed but the enormous paw passed harmlessly through his shell-shocked face. The leopard bit beast mewed before returning to his bit.

"That's why," Ozuma pointed out when they all deemed that Dunga had not died of a sudden heart attack. "Artificial bit beasts were created for combat, as well as eluding our senses they have the ability to make contact with the real world, they can do harm to living things."

"And...?" Miriam raised her eyebrow intrigued.

"Flash Leopard was able to hit Kai." Ozuma concluded. The blue haired girl frowned, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.

"So did Cerberus in the Japanese tournament."

"You're forgetting, just because those scientists revived him doesn't mean that Cerberus is artificial. And as you kindly pointed out Miriam, Kai _was_ injured in that match." There was a grim look passed all around.

"But that's impossible," she sputtered, "bit beasts cannot harm humans, well technically the spinning tops could but not..."

"Which is why we're going to go find out. Joseph, wake Dunga up. We can't stay here for long."

-

-

The tension was thick enough for Takao to eat. Then Brooklyn decided to break the silence,

"Welcome back Kai." He said warmly and it was as if the play button had been pressed. Boris pushed Garland aside and went out the door; Ivan held his briefcase close and followed.

Kai stared at the ginger haired prodigy for a moment and let out a brief 'hn' before tossing him the black queen. He then followed his teammates out the door giving Garland a curt nod. Brooklyn's carefree smile turned into a slightly pensive, pleased one. He clutched the black queen tighter in his hand smelling the faint tang of blood and reveling in the heat of the phoenix that had touched it just moments before.

-

-

After being fussed over by maids, butlers, and teammates, after being chewed out by those certain teammates and being grounded for a month, they were allowed to go back to their rooms and 'reflect' on what they had done and so on. Not... Really...

Though they were exactly welcomed with hugs and kisses, both the blond and the redhead had to admit the seriousness of the situation when the Saint Shields was on Kai's case. Though they never met in person, the Neo Borg (minus Kai) had heard of the infamous sealers of bit beasts before.

Kai sighed, retying his bandages over his chest. He fingered his stomach momentarily before turning around at the sound of footsteps by the door.

"You're hurt," said Yuriy showing more worry in his voice than he had intended. Kai shrugged it off nonchalantly, giving the redhead an unreadable look before turning away. Yuriy grabbed his arm. Kai turned around slowly,

"Yuriy..." the aqua eyed Russian hesitated before tightening his grip.

"Walk with me."

-

-

With Yuriy insistently pulling on his wrist Kai had no choice but to follow the redhead, wherever they were headed. Now they were at the foot of the woods, going in deeper. Tumbling over upturned tree roots and fallen branches, the leisurely walk had turned into something else entirely. It was almost as if the blue eyed Russian had something else in mind, something to hide.

And suddenly, they stopped.

"Remember the last time we were out in the woods together? Back in Russia?" The random question threw Kai off guard. Yuriy's voice took on an almost affectionate tone, eyes dreamy and watching the shades of blue passing through the skeletal branches.

"How could I forget?" answered Kai dryly, wondering where all this was heading towards. "We were playing tag... and got lost thanks to you." Kai shivered at the memory of being buried alive in snow, before Yuriy had the decency to dig him out

"Is it my fault that I'm better at hide and seek than you?" Yuriy grinned the damned swaggering, self-mocking smile. Kai almost melted at the sight.

Almost, but not quite

"Come on, play with me. It'll be fun, and we won't get lost this time."

"I thought we were out here for a walk." Kai mentioned idly. He looked disinterestedly at his feet, until Yuriy stepped closer and lifted his chin up.

"?"

Warm lips covered his own, bare arms pressing into his spine. Hands roamed, wandered down towards his belt, beyond, between his thighs and up his stomach. He flushed scarlet as the kiss deepened further, their tongues locked in war as Yuriy's fingers twisted themselves in the tight black shirt Kai wore.

Kai did nothing to stop this. In fact, he encouraged it in his own quiet way by moving his smaller hands out of the way. Then they broke apart, Yuriy nipping the lower lips in parting and Kai suddenly realizing where they were and what they had done. Suddenly the chilly wind was nothing compared to the pit of ice that now lined his turning stomach. He froze, hands falling back towards his sides, gloves useless in the act that had just transpired.

"Tag, you're it."

He felt as if the crowing inside his head would never stop.

* * *

**Ketsueki-Ken**- yeaahh... I'm not that good at English so some parts WILL be confusing. Wait, scratch that, try all. -looks up- there's some Yuriykai see? -smiles innocently- 

**Kurosaisei**- Thanks :P last time I checked I was in 11th... I think... but then I'm not quite sure because this country only has three years for highschool hmm.

**kailover2006**- keep reviewing :)

**Mizuki hikari**- thanks for the review

**YuriyTalaIvanov**- yeah I guess it was confusing... The 'cutting thing' and 'black queen thing' are explained in this chapter. Brooklyn somehow acquired Cyber Dranzer and had hidden it in the black queen chess piece before giving it to Kai. The 'cutting thing' is well hard to explain. Kai fears Kuro Suzaku in a way, (this will be explained in later chapters) so by cutting her, he feels that he can more or less control her.


	7. Chapter 7: What can I do?

**A.C.:** Yes I am the most horrible author you probably had the misfortune of meeting, and I'm sorry it took me so long to put this up but gah! I don't like this chapter at all! Maybe it's time to ask for a sedative or two. –bashes head on the keyboard- there's something seriously wrong when you decide that the little voice in your head is your best friend -sighs- _(/hyperventilation-freaking-out-panic-attack )_ I need a vacation... somewhere that speaks English. Somewhere with lots of NATURAL blondes, brunettes and redheads!

Think of it as a really late Christmas present. Really, Merry belated Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you next year!

* * *

"Kai..." 

Yuriy mumbled into the kiss, biting the lower lips brutally before backing the smaller form into a tree and crushing him against it.

"Kai..." the way the redhead moaned out the word made it seem as if the three lettered word was the only one that mattered, only one that existed in the world. Kai made an answering throaty sound before grinding his hips against Yuriy's. The action just made the Russian more aggressive as they crushed their lips together, tongues locked in a heated war to prove dominance against one another.

It seemed as though they would long devour each other before they broke apart with a breathless gasp, almost as if coming up from beneath the waters to take the first breath. Eyes soft Yuriy traced the blue fins on Kai's cheeks. Kai said nothing, eyes liquid as he committed each action to memory. Then he closed his eyes, eyelids fluttering as the redhead's breath traced his neck.

Yuriy's eyes were violet.

-

-

They didn't say anything to each other during their walk back towards the manor. Yuriy didn't say anything because he wasn't sure what to say, if there was anything to say at all. Kai had not pushed him away like he always had, even welcomed him into his arms. But it wasn't the 'yes' that he needed, so he kept silent, wishing that the Japanese-Russian would speak.

Kai didn't say anything because... what was there to say? Their little tryst back in the woods, hidden from the eyes of others, felt so perfect, felt so right... but it shouldn't have happened. He, Kai should not have let it happen. So what was there to say?

Kai held his hands, having long since discarded his gloves. They held hands, in a bare skin hand-to-hand way. It would have been quite funny how it turned out this way. Only... the contact wasn't one of affection Yuriy craved. Kai had laced their fingers together almost... reassuringly. The Russian phoenix's gaze was far away, somewhere away from where they were, away from him. Yuriy didn't mind too much, especially when the sight of them hand in hand sent one annoying gnome (aka Daichi Sumeragi) careening into a lamp post.

-

-

Kai was there first thing in the morning like a regular delivery of mail from his oh-so 'adoring' fans. Brooklyn ushered him in, noticing how the sun was barely peaking over the horizon. The days were getting shorter he thought, filling a cup of tea in front of him. When the slate-haired teen looked everywhere but the steaming cup of tea Brooklyn said soothingly,

"Kai, calm down."

"I am calm." Kai snapped before grabbing his cup of tea. Brooklyn eyed the teen dubiously. He could see the fine tremors coursing though the smaller body as the hot liquid sloshed down the phoenix's throat.

"What happened?"

Kai buried his face in his arms. The cup of tea had been drained in one gulp and now hung loosely on Kai's index finger. Brooklyn watched the porcelain swing back and forth as he listened to Kai's answer.

"I touched him." Kai hissed. He felt the burns trailing after the cup of tea and felt better. Pain he could focus on, pain bound him to reality. Pain rationalized most everything in life. "After all the things I've said, I had to go and fucking touch him."

If Brooklyn was surprised by the sudden change in Kai's language he didn't show it. Instead, the prodigy gently pulled the cup off of the other's fingers and refilled it, sitting down next to the shaky teen.

"I don't see why you're worried. He's marked, he's yours now, isn't that what you've wanted?" Kai glared at him, Brooklyn smiled back and handed him his tea.

"I could hardly say he's mine." Kai replied dryly. He sipped his tea, a little slower this time. It still burned and he was glad to know that if anything, it woke him up.

The prodigy rolled his shoulders playfully before taking out the chessboard on the coffee table. He lovingly fingered the black and white pieces before pushing it towards the Japanese-Russian as an offering.

"I've been waiting for you Kai. Garland is a fair player but..." the redhead absentmindedly gestured towards the air beside him. "He's too predictable."

"Funny..." Kai muttered, gingerly prodding the black pieces. "...coming from you..." Brooklyn took the white in a unanimous agreement and began to set up the board.

"No questions for me today?" Brooklyn moved first, whites always did. His knight had jumped over the pawns and entered the playing field.

"Not like you wouldn't know..." Kai moved up his pawn two spaces.

Brooklyn shrugged before moving a white pawn forward.

"We did make a deal, just try me." Brooklyn's eyes were dark despite the lightness of his smile. Kai gazed back steadily as the green orbs measured him in increments that he did not know. Almost as if to prove himself Kai asked,

"Who did they want? Me or Kuro Suzaku?"

Brooklyn's smile widened. His eyes narrowed shrewdly as he over took one of Kai's pawns.

"You're not asking the right questions."

"Oh?" Kai raised his eyes challengingly, "I thought the deal was that you would answer whatever I asked."

"True, but why waste questions for an answer that you already know? Knowledge is power you know."

"With power comes great responsibility," quoted Kai dryly.

"Ah," replied Brooklyn, not missing a beat. "And who knows it better than us?"

Kai looked down at his cup blowing gently on the rippling surface. His hand was on his black knight, the rubbery bottom pressing down on the white bishop.

"Indeed."

-

-

Smiling Brooklyn contemplated whether to give the duo the chance to reveal themselves. It was obvious that they wanted something from him. It was also obvious that if he didn't confront them soon, they would soon follow him towards his temporary home and as much as he liked playing with people, Garland, Takao, and Kai were the only people he would willingly allow into his apartment.

Brooklyn changed directions towards a secluded section of the park that was empty at that time of the day. The pebbled pavement changed into soft grass and he stopped and said,

"It's getting tiring to follow me isn't it? Whoever you are... I suggest you reveal yourselves..." the odd glint in the green eyes would have sent anyone flying out of there in a matter of seconds. But his back was turned and his stalkers didn't see the almost maniac glow in the green as they proudly presented themselves to the king of darkness. "Well?"

Salima and Jim held their blades out.

"We want Cyber Dranzer back."

-

-

"Umm... Yuriy what did you do with your eyes?"

Yuriy looked around suspiciously.

"What's wrong with my eyes?"

Ivan cringed as the Russian blader pinned him with a glare. Boris looked away quickly, just in case the redhead decided to turn his wrath against him instead. Sergei looked between the two before fixating his eyes on their leader's irises to see if he could spot the problem.

"Well..." Ivan coughed a few times to make sure. "...They're purple."

Yuriy had a thoughtful look on his face before it changed into a dangerous scowl.

"They're blue."

"They **_were_** blue fearless leader." Boris quipped nonchalantly, not daring to look at the redhead in the eyes. "Actually more of a pale, clear, blue. But emphasis on the **_'were'_** there if you please."

"They **_are_** blue." Yuriy snapped.

"Maybe I should file this away, Yuriy's going colorblind after one too many drugs and genetic enhancements." Sergei said finally. Everyone unanimously agreed to the theory and went back to whatever they were doing. Everyone except Yuriy that is.

"They're not purple!"

-

-

"You never told us of _their _existence."

"Should have kept up with the news then." The reply carried a tone of irony. The caller growled on the other end.

"You should have just told us!"

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"Do you want to save your brother or not?"

Something rebellious reared inside of him and he bit out,

"Are you sure **he's** the one in need of saving?"

There was a loud slam on the other end of the line. He smiled briefly, putting the receiver back down.

-

-

It was somewhere in between drifting through various stages of sleep, brooding and staring out the window, and answering Takao's randomly generated questions when Kane realized that Jim and Salima were missing.

This wasn't too unusual, he realized. Ever since Goki was hospitalized, the blond and the redhead had been unable to stand the sterile halls, but they always managed to come together for meals... such as the one Takao heaved through the doorway (despite the nurses' numerous protests).

As Takao laid out their dinner above a second bed, Daichi bounced in. The short redhead had a nasty looking bump in the place of his 'x' shaped scar. He began to pick at the food when Takao was not looking before mentioning something odd he saw yesterday. Kane wasn't paying attention, just listening to the slow beeping of the heart monitor as Goki's chest went up and down. Whatever Daichi said must have been staggering for Takao just stood there staring at the food in his hands with a slapped look on his face.

Kane shook his head.

"You guys... where's Jim and Salima?"

-

-

Cyber Drigger and Cyber Draciel spun in perfect harmony as they circled the still form of Brooklyn still standing with his back turned towards the others. They could have easily taken Brooklyn down at this point, should have but couldn't. The rules of blading, the black and white blindfolds were tied so tightly around their eyes that even if to avenge their fallen comrade, they could do little more than threaten the prodigy in front of them.

But to Brooklyn, honor was a mortal's thing. If they could not attack him, he would in their stead.

The black top shot out, knocking the two white blades off course. The redhead and the blond stumbled half a step before regaining their footing. With an aggressive growl, the girl initiated a move that should have stopped any normal top in their tracks. When the black blade evaded it with a grace unexpected from such a bulky blade, she bade Cyber Drigger to turn around and tackle it.

The cyborg tiger missed once more and it only heightened Brooklyn's name on the list of culprits.

"Cyber Drigger, Metal Heart!!"**(1)**

The metal feline roared in exhilaration of being let out in the open. The roars soon turned into miniature sound waves, shattering the very ground she spun upon. Salima's lips lifted upwards in a predatory grin, so sure that she had exacted revenge for her fallen comrade.

"Salima look!" the blonde beside her had gone rigid in fear. The normally slicked back strands of yellow stood on end as the calculating look in his gray eyes was replaced by quiet horror.

Zeus rumbled in annoyance as he spun quietly in the middle. Around him was a cloud of black and violet, speckled with tiny dots of light. It was as if a miniature galaxy had formed around the winged centaur. Only it wasn't just a part of a scaled sky they faced against, it was the center of Brooklyn and Zeus' strength, the darkness. And suddenly they weren't staring down on it; it was staring down at them.

Like a vacuum, the darkness began to suck everything in. With each sonic boom Cyber Drigger gave off, a point of light died away, making her and Jim wonder if they hadn't imagined all this and soon they would wake up to Kane's insistent tugs that Goki was ok.

"That was a neat trick," Brooklyn smiled encouragingly, making the duo step away in fear. "I bet I can make it better." The resounding waves were three folds the power Cyber Drigger normally gave off. It did not merely shake the ground they stood upon but shaped it, until the two gray blades were corralled in a circular rim with no way out.

"How..." Salima stuttered, feeling her knees quaver slightly. Sensing what was about to happen, Jim grabber her hand and squeezed it tight. The redhead looked despairingly at the blonde, already knowing that this plan had been doomed from the start.

"Don't give up Salima, he hasn't defeated us yet." Feeling the blonde shiver in her hand, Salima swallowed and squeezed back. Cyber Draciel unveiled itself as Cyber Drigger took a defensive position behind it. "If we give up now, we won't be able to get it back...!" the last note rose in a pitch of hysteria as the blonde made a desperate attempt at the king of darkness.

"Cyber Draciel!!"

With the black blade seemingly preoccupied, Salima made her move.

"Cyber Drigger!!"

The twin blades ground against black in perfect synchronization and it seemed as though they could possibly take victory as their own. The smile on Brooklyn's face split into a full-blown smirk, and suddenly the duo realized that they were stuck over a pit of murky water.

They couldn't see the bottom and they didn't want to.

Salima gasped slightly as the darkness rippled, flickers of empty sockets staring at her from the black.

Jim gave a small squeak as his feet sank into the oily depths. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Salima too had been claimed by the waters, the darkness and whatever else wrapping tightly around her torso as they dragged her down.

A point of light...

Brooklyn watched them calmly with all the serenity of a veteran undertaker as the shadows swallowed them.

A tongue ran across the lower lips as his words became stakes that nailed their coffins shut.

"King of... Darkness..."

And it was as if all the nightmare they had gone through in the past had fused into one horrific being. Salima heard Jim screaming and knew from her stretching jaws, the rawness of her throat and the viscous liquid filling her lungs that she too was screaming. And it was these screams that accompanied them as they made the decent down the depths of hell and into defeat.

Cyber Drigger and Cyber Draciel lay shattered before them, the cores laid bare to the world. Salima had a half a mind to reach out and shelter her bit beast, because she was sure, this would be the last time she would be able to hold Cyber Drigger in her hands. Beside her Jim fell face forward onto the grass, eyes open but seeing nothing.

Glazed gray eyes watched dully as the god beast closed in for a finishing blow...

A moon colored wolf tackled the dark beast, burying its crystalline wings into the thickly furred flesh. Zeus snarled at the interruption but Brooklyn signaled him to stand down. On the crest of the hill was Yuriy, silvery white top spinning before him.

Then they blacked out.

-

-

"Yuriy," Brooklyn greeted nonchalantly as he caught Zeus in his hands. The redhead did not reply as he did the same with Wolborg, staring intently down at the two still forms below. Following his gaze Brooklyn too looked at the two bladers before shrugging and turning away.

"Did you need something?"

Yuriy's eyes were sharp and almost glowing against the orange sunset. They were violet, a different hue but no less clearer than the cold aqua Brooklyn remembered. They bore _his_ mark. They swiveled up and down, as if to assess him in a way only a predator could. Then he broke his frigid gaze, turning away.

"No, nothing, never from you."

"Never?" teased Brooklyn. The ginger haired prodigy languidly followed the red wolf up the grassy hill. He kicked the leaves and mused how they were too wet and probably unpleasant to make a pile of and to jump in. As the European blader came closer Yuriy's footsteps became faster. Brooklyn stopped, wondering what Kai had seen in the ice block painted in red.

"Never."

"Yuriy... he still loves you... very much..." The wind carried away most of Brooklyn's quiet words but the green eyed youth knew, with curling lips, that he had been heard. And that Yuriy wasn't running from him from resentment and hatred but rather... the truth.

-

-

"So you've found me..."

It hadn't been that hard to find Hiwatari Kai, not when he had wanted to be found. Hitoshi had just followed the tug of strings in his gut as his feet unraveled a small trail lost to most people. Then, he was there.

It wasn't one of Kai's usual haunts. In fact, it wasn't anywhere near places Kai would usually hide out in.

People pushed against him, rushing to catch that last taxi, subway, bus, to go home.

It was unnerving. Downright irritating had anyone asked him. Even Hitoshi, who was used to working with many people couldn't help but glare as an anorexic teen wearing a pink mini-skirt bumped into him and ran off without even saying sorry.

"It wasn't that hard to find you, not when you were..." he left the sentence hanging and gestured with a hand. "Want to go some place more private?" the older man asked wryly.

"What did you tell Brooklyn?" Kai grabbed Hitoshi's arm, jerking him forward with sudden force. Hitoshi stumbled before regaining his footing. People flowed past them in a stream of darkish colors. It was as if they were two rocks against a river with the swift waters flowing past them.

The man, after fruitlessly trying to get Kai out of the oncoming crowd, sighed irritably shooting a tired glare at the Russian. Kai stared back unblinkingly, eyes narrowing as the seconds trickled by.

"Look Kai, I still consider..."

"Consider me as what?" asked Kai scornfully. "A pawn, a tool, another step..." Hitoshi winced, but they were now against the walls of a building. The glass window beside them displayed the latest fashion in late fall and early winter with people passing by 'ooh' and 'ahh'ing over their next possible conquest. "An imperfection, a weapon, an abomination... something not entirely human... another obstacle, another opponent for your baby brother..." Kai stepped closer, his hold on Hitoshi's arm tightening. "What did you tell him Hitoshi?"

"We're not having this conversation." Hitoshi turned, trying to pull away from Kai's grip.

"Yes _we_ are." Said Kai coldly and pulled up his shirt. Hitoshi instinctively turned his eyes away, not wanting to see the confirmation of what he had feared the most. Kai boldly displayed his washboard stomach, a few girls giggling as they passed by. Perhaps to few, this looked like a couple's argument for they pointed and whispered to each other before passing. "Look at it Hitoshi," called Kai, his voice a bare whisper. Hitoshi refused, trying to claim his arm back from Kai's possession. "Look!"

Hitoshi looked then paled. Seeing the reflection of horror on the other bluenette's face Kai continued quietly,

"What did you tell him?"

The phoenix's eyes darkened in victory as her crested neck rose over the lines in red.

-

-

"Kai?"

"Hmm?"

It was late. The cold lightly nipped his skin as he shed all outer clothing by the bathroom door. All the lights were out and somehow the atmosphere had become... somewhat erotic.

With Yuriy waiting standing by the bed, Kai sauntered up to him and placed his palm on the redhead's chest. Yuriy reached out to touch the waiting lips but at the last moment stopped as Kai's neck gracefully curved out of the way.

"I wish I could kiss you right now." Said Kai wistfully. The dual-haired teen raised his hand up towards Yuriy's face before lowering it again.

Yuriy licked his lips, his throat suddenly feeling dry.

"So why don't you?"

Kai wrapped his arms around Yuriy's neck, tucking his chin on the redhead's shoulders while pressing his body against him.

"I don't need to... You're already mine." Kai pushed him over, landing on top of him as they fell on the carpeted floor.

Though Yuriy's senses were better than those of normal human beings, in the shadows Yuriy couldn't see much except the basic outlines of the room and the moonlit curves of Kai's form as they made out on the plush floor.

But through lust-filled eyes Kai had underestimated cold precision of the wolf's gaze and suddenly Yuriy had a feeling it wasn't just shadows clinging on to Kai's stomach...

* * *

**(1)-** I don't remember what it does so I'm making reasonable guesses here. Ehh what does it do again?? 

the document manager needs serious help, what am I supposed to do with just one kind of brackets???

* * *

**Ayatsuji- **If only the world was that simple. ㅠㅠ ah thanks for the reviews, you have no idea how much I look forward to yours! XD 

**YuriyTalaIvanov- **

How did brooklyn get cyber dranzer?

_-we can assume that he 'won' him off of Goki_

Why did he get cyber dranzer and then give it to kai?

_-who knows, maybe we'll find out_

Why is there lines of dranzer and dark dranzer on kai's stomach?

_-that's a secret_

How did kai miraculously get healed after he got shot?

_-see the answer above_

What was wrong with the stairs?

_-I guess he sensed danger_

How did kai burn everything after he got shot?

_-Kuro Suzaku?_

who is yuuya?

_-Can't tell you, I can say that he's made an appearance in the 2nd season though_

Who hired ian,boris, and kai to get the info? was it the saint sheild?

_-Yes_

And that scene where the demo boys were rushing to get away from wherever they are, what was that about?

_-Seeing as how it would be quite difficult to answer hows and whys, I would run too._

Where did the storm come from?

_-Boris and Falborg_

What did ozuma mean when he told kai that kai is not fit to carry suzaku and to give it to him?

_-Umm... it's complicated. Watch the 2nd season. See why the Saint Shields appeared in the first place._

Did cyber dranzer get destroyed?

_-No_

How did kai, boris, and ian suddenly appear in garland's house?

_-Kai did something_

And what did the saint sheilds mean when they say that their target has always been the four constellations and the deities?

_-Again, please watch or re-watch the 2nd season, but the four constellations would be Genbu, Byakko, Seiryu, and Suzaku, otherwise known as Draciel, Drigger, Dragoon, and Dranzer._

Tri-generation of America

_-All the American bit beast whose name starts with 'Tri' ex)Trigator_

and how are the saint sheild "infamous sealers of bit beasts"?

_-It's what they did, or tried to do in the 2nd season_

and why did kai say 'tag, you're it' to tala after they just kissed?

_-because Kai wants to play X3  
_

**Ketsueki-ken-** remember the good ol' days when little kiss scenes were enough to satisfy readers? Wait there was no good ol' days damn.

**Tuli-Susi- **I always thought it was unfair how the creators made so-and-so lose so that Takao would get to fight them in the end. So I began creating complicated reasons and whatnot that ended up into a... fic hmm...


	8. Chapter 8: Broken

**A.C.:** 0.o what was I on last chapter? You know what? I don't want to know. Heh what do you know... first post of the year 2007 (Technically chapter 7 was because of the time differences)

My excuse for being late this time? –twiddles fingers- TOEFL, because I obviously can't read, write, speak English well and have to prove it by paying couple of hundred dollars to take a friggin test... uhh... yeah, because I don't know English... obviously

Of course you're free to assume the usual; I was being a lazy ass

But why Valentines Day? –hands out free chocolate-

* * *

-

-

* * *

"_Hello Brooklyn..."_

-

-

"What happened?" Kane's face was pasty, all the color drained out of his normally tanned cheeks. "Who did this?" His voice was no more than a hollow whisper as Jim and Salima joined Goki in his sterile room in the hospital. "Who...?" the room spun and Kane leaned against the doorway, helpless as the orderlies rearranged the comatose limbs of his team mates. Tears of half-made and half-broken promises filled his eyes and when Takao touched his shoulders, he ran out of the room.

-

-

There are fires that do not affect him, fires that are nothing to the scarlet wings of Kai. The flames flicker at his feet, worrying at the shadow that lies beneath. It's a losing battle, the flames cool into mellow amber and die away.

All around him, it is the same. Fires that once reached to smother him faded to pale orange with blue threads. Momentarily, he allows himself a small smile in satisfaction at what he can do, what he could do.

He had underestimated the elements.

Within seconds, the revived flames clawed at his face, dispelling darkness and throwing him into a world of heat and light that pulsed in a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of colors. He saw the past battles, the present situation, black feathers as they floated down from the heavens. A vision of himself tangled up in thin sheets beneath the curtains, violent blue cry of a captain who had no one left to lead, a brother who had been surpassed by his younger, and a breaking glacier as it fell into the ocean. He saw a cage made of gold and fire, melting as the shadows within it sat in wait, a shade of crimson decking the floor before it and broken glass surrounding its sacrificial alter as reality continued to shift. A feline prowled by proudly, he saw a turtle carrying a mountain and a dragon of gold captured in chains. He saw a lizard angry, rabid, and spitting foam, a bird with broken wings, ruining them further by trying to fly, and finally himself once more as he woke up panting.

Brooklyn wiped his face, elbows touching the sweat-soaked pillow case as he slowly inched open his eyes. It was still dark out, the air clear enough that the stars shone faintly against the night black sky. His breath came out in steady steam; he had slept with his window open.

He shook his head, eyeing the windows dumbly as he reached for them. Frost had formed faintly on the outside but not on the inside. Meaning someone must have opened them...

"... I see you..." Brooklyn said to the air as he laid back on the damp pillow and sheets. "... I can see you..."

Beside him, Zeus shone violet in response.

-

-

It was his sore throat that woke him up. Swallowing back a bubbling cough, Kane looked up to see that dawn had graced Japan's shores once more. The thought made him half-delirious at the pain of day starting once more while his teammates rotted away silently in their cold, white cells. He rubbed his stiff hand across his eyes, brushing away the grit at the thought of revenge taking hold in his mind.

Swinging his feet down towards the ground, he saw that other benches were occupied with the homeless just starting to get up. Sometime during the night or dawn, someone had covered him up with a patchwork of newspaper and cardboard. Nodding politely as a kindly looking man walked past with his hands stuffed in his pockets, he folded the newspaper and stacked it at the bottom of the bench.

He began heading towards the hospital, knowing that they could be awake and waiting for him right that moment. Something nagged at the corner of his mind, something about the whole situation and the present condition of his teammates seemingly too familiar.

_...As if... _

_...It had happened to someone else before..._

He hadn't been blind to his teammate's plotting, far from it. He hadn't actively pursed their attackers, though he compiled data on numerous beybladers still in Japan with the help of Kyoujyu. And while he regretted not being able to help Salima nor Jim, he knew there were possibilities. The presence of Jim and Salima lying beside Goki meant one thing; they had found Cyber Dranzer.

-

-

"So they basically sorted out everything and decided that you're not some kind of a threat to the world." The sentence was accompanied by a wry look as the dusky skinned youth sipped his cup of tea.

They sat on the couch, a chess set marking Garland's 5th defeat that day between them. Brooklyn stared out the window, wisps of orangey-red catching the late autumn sun. The windows were placed so that he would feel the brunt of the sun, making him look as if he was on fire. Though the effect was appreciated on Kai's cooler colors, he should really get a curtain. He blinked, catching the last few words of Garland's lone rambling. He wasn't really paying attention to what Garland was saying; he was more focused on...

"When are you planning to go?"

"Hmm? I'm not sure actually..." Garland admitted honestly. "Though if you want me to, I can stay until you're ready to leave." The earnest look on his teammate's face was almost too much for Brooklyn as he fought to keep his smile at a minimum.

"I think I'll stay here a bit longer..." the green eyes were dreamy, reflecting glassy yellow from the sunlight. "After all, the day is still long... and the night, longer."

-

-

"Well aren't we feeling good this morning." Drawled Boris slowly as Yuriy took a seat at the table for a brunch as Kai walked past them slapping his gloves on while muttering 'late' and 'not hungry'. "You should really take good care of your boyfriend; it's not healthy to miss breakfast."

Yuriy who had been humming at this point choked on his scone until Ivan 'kindly' helped him to swallow it. Before Yuriy could retort, the silver falcon rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, everyone in this household and a half knows you guys haven't been just sleeping in your rooms."

Yuriy glared, purple irises paling to an almost blue shade. He stabbed at his fruit and plopped a few into his mouth before muttering out a few choice words. Boris mockingly clawed at his heart,

"Oooh, very mature."

Scowling, Yuriy flicked crumbs of scone at his teammate.

"Shut up Boris."

-

-

"Morning Kai." Brooklyn was waiting for him in front of the main street just before it divulged into a narrower road. The sun played on them both and Brooklyn gently turned Kai around to face the other way, towards the park and downtown, before he could ask anything. "I thought you might like a change of scenery."

Kai grunted at this, neither agreeing nor disagreeing as he was herded over towards the nearby park.

-

-

They sat on the swings, Kai holding a dripping cone of chocolate while Brooklyn nibbled at a cone of vanilla. Kai had taken his gloves off at Brooklyn's insistence and held them in his other hand.

"Feels nice doesn't it?" Brooklyn smiled, petting a pigeon. Sparrows had perched on his shoulder chirping inquisitively at the vanilla cone. The redhead broke off the bottom piece and fed it to the birds, looking at Kai all the while.

None of the birds ever approached Kai.

Watching carefully Brooklyn added,

"Feels... whole..."

Kai's grip tightened and the cone began to crumble helplessly beneath his fingers.

"How much has he told you?"

"Not enough in my opinion, it was quite interesting." Brooklyn finished his ice cream and gave the rest to the doves by his feet, already aware of what was going to happen. Kai knew that _he_ knew and seethed in silence. The chocolate had drooped stickily down his fingers and he glared at it, mentally comparing it to the inevitability of reality.

The truth about darkness.

A shadow fell over him, Brooklyn, extending a hand to take the broken cone into his own and dropping it at his feet. The birds cooed, specifically avoiding Kai's feet but heartily indulging themselves on chocolate ice cream. Kai glared and Brooklyn turned over the chocolate coated palm in his hand.

"You've gotten yourself dirty again." And a pink tongue flickered out, gently teasing Kai's calloused palms as they removed the traces of chocolate on his fingers. The background noise faded away and he forgot that they were at a park, on a bench, surrounded by birds fighting over a crumbled chocolate cone. Like a spell, the darkness enticed him and when Brooklyn finished with a knowing smile, his whole world was black.

"What do you expect to accomplish from this?" His hand was smooth and soft against his, having never known physical hardship. But the ragged edges of their emotional scars lined up and they knew it, too well.

"Now Kai, you know the rules. One day, one question. Besides..." Brooklyn pulled Kai onto his feet. The bluenette felt light-headed as he was spun around to face a familiar face. "I think we have company."

Kane.

-

-

"Still can't find him?" Hiromi huffed as she cantered up the street, throwing a haughty look at the two disgruntled boys in front of them. Beside her, Kyoujyu collapsed, having run all the way from the park. He sorely regretted not physically training with the others when he had the chance.

"It's not like you found him either obaa-san!"

Daichi blew a raspberry at her which prompted an immediate beating from the brunette. When Kyoujyu managed to catch his breath he blurted out,

"Some people saw Kane heading towards the park!"

"The park?" all four jumped and looked around to see Kinomiya Hitoshi laden with groceries. The dragon wielding bluenette immediately took some of the plastic bags as his older brother set them down by his feet. Daichi also struggled with a large bag, heavy with lunchmeat hams and cheese. "I think I saw some of the others there." Hitoshi's weather-beaten face creased into a frown. "Brooklyn and..."

Their eyes widened, the scene already playing out in their heads.

_"Kai."_

-

-

The former Psykick was bedraggled, seeming to have been dragged from depths of hell and back. Brooklyn crinkled his nose in mild disgust and Kai was reminded of a certain group of Europeans. Kane glared at the two, eyes smoldering with unrestrained fury. A couple of curious people turned their heads over towards them, immediately looking away when they saw Kane's face, animalistic with every intention of harm written in his eyes.

"What did you do to them?!!"

-

-

"Yuriy," Sergei said quietly as he captured the attention of his captain. "We have a problem."

Ivan sat quietly in the background, listening to the conversation play out.

-

-

Kane attacked them. In hindsight, the blunette realized that he probably should have brought Cyber Dragoon with him. But this was already beyond what little damage control his top could provide him. His friends were in a hospital, in a coma, and no amount of spinning a top could help them awaken.

In hindsight, he should have realized that the two he had challenged were credible foes outside of beyblading.

"You should pick on someone your own size Yamashita." Kai elbowed Kane's neck, forcing his head down onto the ground.

"Fuck you Hiwatari." Kane snarled, trying to turn his head and failing. He settled on spitting on Brooklyn's shoes, the redhead didn't even flinch.

"He's not one of the green-eyed ones." Brooklyn remarked thoughtfully as he tugged on Kane's wild hair. "He looks similar to them though." Kai scowled taking care not to touch the struggling boy with his hands.

"Goddamn you two, let me go!"

Kai flipped the raging teen on to his back, eyes searching for something before burying his fist in his stomach. Kane choked, gurgling on his own saliva before Brooklyn gently nudged the head sideways so he could spit.

"So you can attack us again? I don't think so."

Kane panted heavily, tongue flickering out to taste the air. He blinked rapidly, swallowing.

_"You hurt them..."_

The crowd around them grew louder as two shadows fell over the sand beneath the swings. Kai pulled his head back just in time to avoid a punch from Kane, he quickly pulled away to let the other teen scrambled up on to his feet. Brooklyn smiled in satisfaction,

"Ah there are the green-eyed ones."

Miriam and Ozuma stood side by side, shielding Kane behind them. Around Miriam's neck was a silver chain, a strange, almost oblong object in the middle glowing like a miniature sun.

Ozuma gave a backwards glance at Kane, almost a pitying one, the Psykick's leader noted furiously.

"Go home kid."

-

-

"Interesting..." Brooklyn's eye held a cat-like gaze as he inspected the strange pendant around Miriam's neck. The pearly gem burned fierce white, drawing in all light and repelling darkness. Zeus growled softly, angered at being thwarted by a soft-skinned human. "It repels darkness by drawing upon light." he threw a backwards nonchalant look at Kai. "Seems that I will be no use here Kai."

Kai's upper lips lifted in a delicate snarl.

"Try something else then."

Brooklyn's smile twisted into a smirk. Blue flames lit up beneath Zeus' cloven heels and the bottom of the blade. Kai froze in recognition of the attack as Miriam was forced to jump away when the pendant did nothing to protect her and Sharkrash from the onslaught of the super heated flames.

"Naa Kai, _why are you fighting_?"

And something broke inside of him.

-

-

Kai's thoughts swirled chaotically. He could dimly hear Brooklyn fending off Miriam without much effort. He could hear Ozuma calmly demanding him to give up. He didn't notice how the green orbs had sharpened once more; trying desperately from screaming out things they had no right to know. His pulse quickened, every liter of blood pouring through his veins seeming more like poison with each beat. Too many voices crowded into his head, shrilly insisting to be let out into the open air once more.

He still carried his beyblades around, even when he had no plans to play mock-battles with anyone. In desperation to crowd the voice out, to silence one persistent tone that had grown louder within the past few months, he launched it at Ozuma.

-

-

'_Why are you doing this?!'_

_The black waters rippled, then smoothed into a mirror like surface reflecting light. Around him were will-o-wisp like balls of energy, each containing one painful memory or another of people he's seen, never met, existing or otherwise deceased. He frowned, eyes narrowing in an attempt to see beyond him. Something beneath the obviously scratched and scarred surface._

'_Why won't you admit it? Why can't you accept the fact that it's been part of you all along? Why do you keep lying to yourself?'_

-

-

Only Ozuma's quick reflex saved him from being impaled by one of Dranzer's wing like blades. The two beyblades crashed in midair before falling to the ground. The blue top had stopped spinning; it was an old model, kept out of sentimentality rather than any other real value. Flash Leopard spun around the cracked top, checking to see if it was dangerous. But it wasn't the top Ozuma was looking at, it was Kai.

"Ozuma!"

Miriam's pendant reacted violently; no longer able to protect her from the darkness. The crowd around them gasped as a bit beast, too fast for them to see but powerful enough to imagine, launched a clawed fist at the blue haired girl.

"_Too much darkness..."_

How had he gotten behind her she wondered. Zeus' attack seemed so slow, almost as if someone had taken a remote control to slow down his reaction. The centaur's thickly feathered legs were almost graceful as they stepped, almost dancing, across the black waters. Round and round the water spun around her, waters splashing gray and black against her ankles. Numerous ghostly blobs passed through her, each and every one leaving her feeling cold and empty.

"_... And not enough light..."_

"_Hades cannot help you..."_

She saw his green eyes, not the familiar opaque green of her brother and sisters but a clearer shade. The kinds that appear in water at just the right angle as the light hit the water. The ones that proclaimed that he knew all, ones so catlike that it pierced deep into her soul. And it was as if he was behind her, pressed against her, holding her so that she could see every single minute detail of her demise. She saw his lips quirk in the corner of her eyes.

"He won't."

-

-

"Dragoon! Galaxy Tornado!!"

"Gaia Dragoon, GREAT CUTTER!"**(1)**

The spell was broken and Takao was at Kane's side with his friends bringing up the rear. The dragons' timely intervention had saved Miriam from drowning, but she wasn't quite out of the water yet. Her pendant burned like a supernova, drawing light easily now that Zeus had pulled away.

Gaia Dragoon had circled and come back to Daichi. But Dragoon tore through the practice grounds skating in between arches of human legs, but when he approached Kai he bounced back, the place in air he had hit turning momentarily black. Kai looked dully at the spinning bey, his eyes meeting once with Brooklyn's before turning towards Takao and the others.

_...and Hitoshi._

There was confusion in the red, wrought out by conflicting interests before a calculating look won it all, assessing each and every one of them as a predator might do to a prey. 'What are you doing here?' he wanted to ask, but words didn't form, not easily anyways. And it was terribly rude of him to turn his back on a guest that he had been originally entertaining... Thankfully Brooklyn seemed to understand, or maybe he had the same questions himself?

"What are you doing here?"

-

-

Takao gaped, a million and one questions running through the head like mass hoards of fans trying to get a glimpse of the elusive Kai. He closed his mouth swallowing as he locked eyes with the prodigy –_the one person whom he has never been able to defeat_. Almost as if sensing his master's despair, Dragoon took up a defensive position in front of him.

"We were looking for Kane." Hitoshi finally spoke up; Kane snapped at helping hands and stood up glaring. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, Daichi stepped forward.

"What are _you_ doing here?!"

"I am here because Kai is." Stated Brooklyn boldly. Hitoshi gave his former protégée a quick look over and frowned. Brooklyn didn't seem to mind, Brooklyn was too busy watching a game of cat and mouse between Kai and Ozuma.

-

-

Kai sneered, marveling at his power. He made a bubble around Saint Shield's leader, intending to feed him to his flames. The ball of fire imploded, sucking the air into a single point of light before expelling hot air. When the smoke dispersed, an exhausted Ozuma stood in the middle holding out a fisted hand.

"Hades' bit." Ozuma panted out in satisfaction. He held up a shiny bit that looked like a circle with cut out squares for wings. "Miriam's was a copy." was the black flames danced around in an odd circle around him. Flash Leopard was quiet, curled around his master compliant as a domestic kitten. "The counterpart of Zeus. The bitbeast is long gone now but the bit still has protective properties." The light surged forward, eating up Kai's shadow. It reached his feet and shrank away. Going around him to create an odd circle connecting at the back, it probed around for prospect targets then disappeared.

Kai chuckled softly in amusement, Brooklyn looked intrigued.

"What makes you think it can stop me. What can Hades do when I'm neither light nor dark?" Kai held out a top, another old model. This one was already broken from previous battles; Ozuma recognized it instantly as the one that housed Cyber Dranzer. Brooklyn closed his eyes, mentally counting down the seconds. _'Three... two...'_

Flash Leopard snarled as the blade launched forward, jerking back when a pearly white beyblade cut a jagged line down the side of the gears. The impact was powerful enough to be instantly visible. A giant wolf pressed down on to the leopard, its fangs digging into the back of the skull as if foamed almost rabidly at the mouth. Yuriy immediately jerked the gray blade out of the blunette's hand.

'_One.'_

"Are you insane?!"

The crowd hushed, sensing that it was not an everyday conflict they were facing. After all, how many times do you get the chance to see the real pros going at it outside TV? Growling, Yuriy jammed the blade down his pockets and recalled Wolfborg. He gave Ozuma a flat glare and wisely the Saint Shield retreated. Holding his breath Takao picked up Dragoon, Brooklyn smiled as he caught Zeus in one hand, the silence was unbearable.

-

-

"Yuriy," Brooklyn greeted cordially. His gaze strayed once more to the ragtag leftover of BBA. Smiling briefly at his former trainer, he gave the redhead his full attention.

He had seen what was to happen after all. Hiromi screamed, Takao and Daichi yelled in alarm.

But he wondered, even as he staggered from the force of the punch. If he hadn't brought Kai to the park... then what? He didn't always have to follow what was to happen, there were always strong willed individuals who could break his path of sight. He landed on the ground, scraping his palms against the dirt as he continued smiling sunnily.

In an instant, Takao was in the middle. His intent appreciated, his words, for the most part, easily dismissible. Having the Dragoon blader standing in between them narrowed Yuriy's eyes further, until only a glint of the original amethyst was visible.

"..._you guys shouldn't be fighting!_"

If he only knew...

Gently, Brooklyn pushed Takao away, not wanting any harm to befall on the Japanese for now. Takao protested as Brooklyn went up to the angry wolf and held his hand out. Yuriy looked as if he would like nothing better than to bite the fingers off one by one. Brooklyn, still holding out his hand, said simply

"You keep what you catch, the trick is holding on to it."

"And what would you know about holding on?" Asked Yuriy finally, most of the anger draining out him as he wearily tilted his head sideways. "You've never needed to hold on to anything..."

"...Until now." Agreed Brooklyn, his hand still in midair. "But he's worth it." Yuriy nodded absentmindedly as he stared at the long fingers. "He chose you and he's keeping you. But in time he'll come back to me, can **_you_** keep him Yuriy?" Blue eyes flared up in challenge as Yuriy took Brooklyn's hand, grabbing it in a bone-crunching grasp that left the other youth smiling broadly. "Can you?"

The violet had bled out, whispers of a distant nova exploding in Brooklyn's eyes.

"Can you?"

-

-

Kai stopped,

"Sergei, kill me now." Sergei stopped as well, looking over Kai with solemn sea-gray eyes. The wind picked up and Kai shivered, meeting the blonde's gaze with defiant eyes. "I know you and Ivan were ordered to stop me should I ever pose a threat, I'm asking you, kill me while you still can."

"And..." Sergei spoke slowly, almost deliberately so that they would reach the mansion before he would have to answer. "... If I don't think you're a danger yet, what would you say...?"

"I would say you're a fool and that you were going soft. I suppose you'd have to, trying to be a doctor and all." Kai's voice was bitter but his eyes were apologetic, Sergei nodded.

"And that would be you Kai."

Sergei stepped forwards, a sidearm an inconspicuous bulge on his thighs. Kai blinked as the blonde's form began to grow smaller and smaller as the distance grew. At last when the curve of the ground and the whispering branches obscured the blonde from view completely, Kai followed a self-mocking smile on his face.

-

-

Takao had backpedaled into the background, his mind grasping the situation at hand. The crowd billowed around them, letting them pass as they all went their separate ways. Confusion and rumors sprung through the gathered people like a rabbit being chased by a hungry fox. Even as they escorted Kane back to the hospital, Takao couldn't help but look back at the retreating backs of Brooklyn and Yuriy.

He had wanted to ask... since he couldn't do it himself.

He had only seen far and few glimpses, rare orchids that he kept tucked in his heart. He had wanted to ask about Kai. Was he alright, was he ok? What was the darkness and fire all about? His impulsive nature getting the better of him, he fell back from the group, determined to see out at least one of them when Hitoshi's hand captured his wrist. His older brother shook his head in a gentle 'no' herding him back with his friends as they trekked through the streets.

But even then Takao couldn't help looking back.

What happened?

-

-

"You say you care for me, but do you love me? Can you?" Yuriy was quiet, looking down at Kai as a hand came up caressing air at the side of his face like a dying butterfly. In that moment came a revelation, a key to a puzzle named Kai. All the pieces were falling into places now and Yuriy realized... he was afraid, afraid of seeing the whole picture. "Your eyes are blue again, did you know that?" No, he hadn't known. His mind had been caught up in a whirlpool ever since his confrontation with Brooklyn.

"_You keep what you catch, the trick is holding on to it."_

"And if I said..." Yuriy pressed his forehead against Kai's feeling the barest traces of heat pass through from skin to skin. "That I loved you, would you say that you loved me too?" Kai smirked,

"Love has no place in our world oh-fearless one, not while we're still alive."

"I never knew you were into necrophilia..." pausing to contemplate something Yuriy settled his chin on the groove of Kai's neck. The blunette's breathing tickled his spine and the redhead shivered in pleasure. Giving the phoenix a sly look, he began to mouth the pale column as Kai squirmed uncomfortably. When he felt comfortable that Kai wasn't suspecting anything fancier Yuriy made his move.

Yuriy's incisors penetrated the skin on Kai's shoulders. Kai spat a short curse before glaring at the redhead. Yuriy grinned ferally, licking off all traces of sticky blood on his lips before returning to suck on the teeth marking on Kai's shoulders. Wiggling away angrily, the phoenix tried to get out from under the heavier redhead and climb on top of him. But Yuriy held him fast and he was forced to remain still as his lover finished his administrations to his shoulder and upper arm.

"There, now we're even. Now I get the excuse of beating up anyone that approaches you."

"It's not even on my neck; they won't see it unless I wear some kind of a tube-top." Kai pointed out dryly as he tenderly fingered the cuts around his shoulders, smearing blood onto his fingers, arms and the pillow below.

"I know." Yuriy gloated, "They won't know what hit them." And Yuriy settled down, almost purring as he deposited himself on top of Kai. Kai smiling fondly closed his eyes, not minding the heavy weight as they fell asleep.

"_Can you?"_

-

-

His hand itched and it immediately dove under the pillow to grab the knife that was hidden under there.

It was dark out, the sky moonless and equally starless. With the mansion secluded from the public, no artificial light suddenly flashed through the gloom. Yuriy twitched his breathing calm and slow but his heart beating like a jackhammer against his chest.

A stray hand wound past his ear and wove themselves in his ear. A sensation of something burning, either inside or out, then nothing, just the cold breeze playing across his back as the window creaked open. And all was silent, as if nothing had been there just before. Yuriy's breath hissed out over his lips. Even with his better-than-human eyesight, he knew that their eyes shouldn't have been glowing the way they were. His eyes were like the tropical color of a sun-kissed sea reflected in the iridescent pool of wine. The molten rubies closed and the fluorescent blue blinked out of existence. Yuriy's grip on the knife tightened as Kai bucked his hip against his with a mew, a knowing smirk folding his lips as perspiration gathered at the redhead's brow into beads of sweat.

"You must be Kuro Suzaku."

-

-

"_Hitoshi"_

* * *

_-_

_-_

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**A.C.:** Does anyone get the feeling that this is turning in to more of a Brooklyn/Kai? I'm sorry Yuriy, but the more I write about Brooklyn, the more I find him... likable… and... well yeah. I get a triangle-feel here too. 

**Yuriy:** -rages in the background-

**A.C.:** I'm getting rid of him aren't I...? -.- ... this is starting to look like a bad soap opera.

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**(1)- **I don't remember what Gaia Dragoon's attack... and... that was what the official website said.

* * *

**Ayatsuji**- (insert lots of floaty hearts here) –sacrifices an alter of white chocolate bonbons/whatever sweets you like- hah, I can't abandon the story now. You're my hero you know that X3 

**Tuli-Susi-** hah thank you D

**Ketsueki-Ken- **updated –hands you a bar of chocolate-

**Reivin17-** well no one really does re-runs of beyblade anymore so... I can't really claim that I remember every single fine, minute, detail. About Kai and Kuro Suzaku, near the end of the first season, his grandfather gave it back to him to go and try to redeem his honor or something. I don't know if he threw it back out into the lake so I'm assuming he kept it... and never ever used it again... St. Shields? I'm going with the 'you can keep it as long as you're worthy' theme so... yeah, they're back D


	9. Chapter 9: Thoughts

**A.C.: **My last day of 'relative' freedom -hisses- School's starting on March 2nd... I'm finally a senior! To a country that has the highest high school senior mortality rate! Buh? In the other news... that means that I have another year until I graduate... I feel... impossibly old... –palms face-

**Disclaimer:** have I ever done this before? I don't own beyblade.

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-

-

* * *

"_I see him..." _

_The voice was filled with longing, an echo of his own_

"_Him?"_

_Inquisitive, prodding, disbelief in something that cannot possibly be true_

"_**Him,** but he doesn't see me. At least he doesn't, not yet..."_

"_What are you waiting for?"_

_A pause, uncertainty_

"_...I don't know..."_

_-_

_-_

"_You must be Kuro Suzaku"_

Kai smiled and Yuriy was immediately reminded how wrong that particular smile looked on the phoenix's face. Kai pressed his forehead against Yuriy's, purring slightly as a small shock of current passed through their brief skin-to-skin contact. His eyes were open once more, looking like rubies glittering brightly against the shadows.

He nipped the nape of his pale neck, twisting his body so that his stomach was flat against the covers while the smooth expanse of his back rubbed against Yuriy's abdomen suggestively. Yuriy swallowed, moaning slightly as he buried his face into the back of Kai's neck.

"Stop it" he muttered even though he knew that the phoenix probably wouldn't listen. Hell he wouldn't listen. Kai's leg curved outwardly onto Yuriy's, locking them together into a position that would risk breaking quite a few things should they tried to get out of it without the other's consent. Apparently the Neoborg's leader had forgotten how flexible his bedmate could be.

And as soon as it began it stopped, leaving Yuriy sweating on one side of the bed while Kai looked on amused, his eyes growing redder and redder by the minute. Then he was on him again, straddling the pale waist and shoving his tongue down Yuriy's throat.

"Nggg..." Yuriy bit at him, almost as if he was trying to eat him alive. Kai welcomed it entirely, not protesting even when Yuriy brought his hand down on his head, forcing their faces closer to mash their lips into one. Kai nibbled delicately on the corner of Yuriy's mouth while the redhead gave lingering licks onto the bleeding lips.

"You're fucking insane you know that?" Yuriy panted, tucking back the silvery bangs behind Kai's ear. "And..." Kai just melted on top of Yuriy's chest, hands slithering lower behind him to slip beneath the boxers and beyond. "You... nnggg..." Yuriy flipped them over, pushing Kai into the soft mattress. "Stop that." He grumbled, though he really didn't mean it. "Now..." Kai's eyes had gone quiet, no not Kai's... Kuro Suzaku's... the knife reappeared beneath Kai's throat, the dull part pushing into the jaw line. "...what did you just do?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" Kai looked disinterestedly at the knife, and then licked his lips as they locked eyes once more. Yuriy could again see the shimmering blue of his own eyes reflected in the pool of red. The effect was mesmerizing. Kai laughed, "You're not going to get any answers if you stare into my eyes, as romantic as it may be." Yuriy smiled, a mocking reflection of Kai's.

"Just... answer." He dug the knife in deeper to make his point. Kai shrugged, not at all bothered by the sharp blade dangerously close to his jugular.

"I didn't _do_ anything, but _your_ Kai's getting weaker." Something quiet burned in Kai's eyes. Something so akin to hunger that for a moment Yuriy wanted to run, test the wind and to see if Kai would follow.

"My Kai." Repeated Yuriy in disbelief, "What the hell are you talking about."

"My, my master Yuriy..." Kai gently pushed away the knife, briefly rubbing his cheeks against the flaming red hair. "Have you never wondered why Kai couldn't remember any of you when he first came back?"

-

-

"Boris..." Ivan stood under the doorway as he gave the older teen a flat stare. '_You scared me_' he was about to add, the words hanging on the barest tip of his tongue. But he didn't because they were both predators and admitting one's weakness could be fatal. Boris probably had read it all in his movements anyways; he was tense, that much was clear to even the blindest of people. "I thought you were one of the Saint Shields." A feeble excuse, however experienced they might have been they couldn't have broken through all the security set up around the mansion.

"I'm more dangerous than any of them combined." Boris grinned cockily. To this Ivan muttered 'I know'. If anything the grin widened until Ivan could have sworn that it split the falcon's face in two. "Now if you don't have any prior engagements..."

"...actually I do," Ivan interrupted, wondering how he could bypass this particular situation. "I'm pretty sure my bed is missing me... gack!" Boris simply grabbed him by the collar and began to drag the smaller boy behind him.

"Like I said if you don't have any prior engagements..."

-

-

Boris pushed Ivan down onto the chair, handing him a piece of paper as he did so. Ivan raised an inquisitive brow before straightening in the paper to get a good look at it. Seeing that Boris was doing nothing to help, he irritably dragged himself towards the lamp on the side table and turned it on.

The surprise on his face was so incriminating that he couldn't have denied it even if he had wanted to. Ivan licked his lips nervously,

"Where... did you get this?"

Boris shrugged, casually rolling his shoulders though his sharp eyes were anything but.

"Saw it, drew it."

Ivan nodded understandingly, Boris had an uncanny ability to memorize patterns or logos that made it easy to identify a certain group or a gang from afar.

"It's..."

"Kuro Suzaku?" provided Boris, poking the shorter teen's chest. "Even I know that much, now tell me what it's doing on Kai's chest."

"You don't have the authority to ask that of me." Ivan hissed, slapping away the offending hand. Boris raised both of his hands, almost as if to placate the agitated viper. A glint of silver caught the snake's eye; the falcon was dead serious this time.

"News flash, we're not in the abbey idiot. And I think that the threat of dying is enough of an authority to ask... what the hell's going on?" Boris pushed Ivan over and made himself at home on the couch, one arm leisurely stretching behind the short Russian's neck to reveal a switchblade.

"How does everyone know that we're in charge of keeping Kuro Suzaku in line?" Ivan asked irritably, trying vainly to avoid the knife.

"Don't change the subject." Said Boris with an artificial sweetness on the borderline of mass-murder mode "it's unbecoming of you." The navy haired Russian squirmed nervously before slapping his face with a sigh. Boris looked at him in fascination,

"What?"

"I wasn't aware that you could do that without hitting your nose..."

"Keep it down." The low baritone of Sergei's voice halted Ivan from trying to bite off Boris' fingers. "They're getting curious." The muscular blond jerked his way towards the back where a couple of nervous looking group of people had gathered. Closing the door Sergei ordered, "Ivan, just tell him, it'll save you the effort of fortifying your laptop." Boris gave the blonde a half-curious look.

"You don't know?"

"I know enough when and when not to eliminate our subject, not much more than that." The blonde gave a half-hearted shrug, to which the viper responded,

"Which you refused to do this afternoon..."

"You didn't do it either when you were clearly ordered to do so should I fail."

Ivan growled; tossing the piece of paper and laying it flat on the table.

"Kai's not supposed to be alive."

"Well duh," responded Boris dryly, "I know we're pretty hard to kill off but I know for a fact Hiwatari **_was_** dead when we found him after his fight with Kingston. Just ask Sergei, he's the doctor."

"I said..." responded Sergei gruffly, "he stopped breathing, I never pronounced him dead."

"See, dead." The eldest member rolled his eyes.

"There are miracles." He pointed out,

"You're a Blitzkrieg first, Neo Borg second, a doctor-wannabe third, you don't believe in miracles"

"Perhaps not, but then what do you call Kai"

"A moron the way he's been going with Yuriy. It's like watching a badly written soap opera."

"Why can't we ever keep our conversations straight?" Ivan asked to no one in particular.

-

-

"_Hitoshi?" _

"Yes..." and he stumbles on the word, his mouth feeling dry. He turns around slowly and is relieved to find that he's still in the kitchen, still doing the dishes (because Takao and Daichi would break them if they ever got the sink duty), still only has an annoying brother named Takao whose red-head sidekick was not present. It kind of reminded him of the other dynamic duo who would surely be doing what most sane people were doing at this time, sleeping.

"What are you doing?" a yawn and Takao resumes rubbing his eyes. It was cute really, how the navy haired Japanese had kept the habit for all these years. It brought in unwanted memories and he frowned, his mind lingering on the subject of his brother.

"Doing dishes." He replied, which earned him and odd look from Takao.

"How long could it possibly take?"

Indeed, he had been washing the same bowl for more than an hour now and still scrubbing. Perhaps if he continued he could get the aging yellow off, perhaps with the chips of paint, he could wash away the memories brought on by his conversation earlier with Brooklyn.

Takao took a seat on the chair, collapsing against the table.

"Ne Hitsohi-nii-chan." But he didn't continue, just listening to the dull 'tick' and 'tock' of the clock overhead. The silence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity, every second punctuated by the 'tick's and 'tock's before Hitoshi spoke again.

"Kane will be alright... he's just angry right now..." his hands methodically sponged the bottom leaving a trail of white foam. "He'll be alright." He dunked it in the sink a few times, rinsing out the last of the bubbles before drying it with a towel. "Just give him time ok?"

Takao replied in something that vaguely sounded like a muffled 'alright' before lifting his head. "But what about..."

The cup fell at his feet, shattering in to pieces of foam covered glass. The auburn eyes are deeply troubled and bleeding into a redder color. In that moment Takao realizes how similar they are, from the slim build to the basic facial frame. Shippou no Jin, Hitoshi, might have well been Kai's brother rather than his. He quickly stands up, making a motion to pick up the broken cup, before a hand closes over his stops him from doing so.

Hitoshi's feet are bleeding.

"Stay away from him."

"What?" Takao backs off, feeling a sense of dejavu away from this place in the rain and falling yellow ginko leaves. Hitoshi's hold does not loosen when he tugs at it frantically, wanting nothing more than to get out of the kitchen. Taking in a shuddering breath, Hitoshi releases him and looks down at him with the same kind of eyes.

"Stay away from him Takao."

A slow rebellion rose up in his stomach.

"Why? Kai's my friend!"

Hitoshi's laughter is harsh, ear-splitting in the quiet hour of the night.

"But that's not what you want from him. Stay away from Kai Takao, I mean it." Takao gives his brother a disgusted look before leaving. His footsteps are light and thuds in accordance with the clock. It is only after Hitoshi remembers to clean up the broken glass, even later he remembers the pain in the soles of his feet.

-

-

Somewhere down the line Kai had pinned Yuriy against the wall. Somewhere down the line Yuriy had slipped off the bed. Somewhere down the line Kai was on top of Yuriy again.

His hands caressed the finned cheeks like a caring lover before pushing his face down for a tiny peck.

"You're beautiful like this you know?"

"Beautiful..." Kai echoed,

"You're beautiful..." Yuriy smiled, almost as if he was laughing at an inside joke. "You're beautiful and exciting."

-

-

"Had fun?" the question wasn't asked for the sake of an answer but for sake of asking, to break the silence enforced upon them during their brief moments of unity in time. So his double did not bother answering, content to let the first create the ripples across their reality until they were separated, one light and the other dark.

There was no direct source of light here, not unless they called out the flames in their all too brief reunions for a spat or two. But the walls glowed a heavenly white so light that the both turned into a phase of monochromic gray, unable to tell which was which and who was what.

"We could be strong," the double said finally as their bodies began to fade. "We would be strong..." the first looked at him dully, eyes quietly wondering if the other was beginning to get desperate. "We... we will be."

-

-

No one ate at the table. They were in various stages of sleep from Ivan's twitchy level one to Yuriy's deeper level five. That is, until Kai stood up to go about his daily business with a trip to Brooklyn's. Strangely enough Yuriy didn't stop him this time, instead, studying him with half-lidded eyes as he pulled on his jacket and opened the door.

"Be careful." Yuriy said finally, hand reaching for the coffee.

"Aren't I always?"

-

-

It seemed as though perhaps Dragoon had swept through the apartment. He had already expected the emptiness of Garland's floor but he didn't expect that Brooklyn too would follow soon after. Boxes upon more boxes furnished the rooms; the only thing left unpacked was perhaps the couch and a few cups and spoons.

With cheer on the borderline psychosis Brooklyn served him tea, chattering on about how he had nothing to do now that he had given away most of his plants to other people in preparation for his trip back to Europe.

"One last question?" at Kai's startled look he continued, "It's only fair, that was our agreement after all." For a long time Kai mulled over the cup. Finally he stood up and dropped it, sending it shattering into pieces at his feet. Brooklyn only gave him a brief reproachful look for the broken glass.

"It doesn't put itself back together, it can't, it won't. But I did." Kai gave Brooklyn a long-suffering look, "why?" and he promptly squatted down, gathering the larger fragments and gathering them towards the middle of the floor. He picked up the smaller pieces and cut his finger on one, and again put them in the middle with the larger pieces. The handle was missing, sent scattering across the floor somewhere.

"Why...?" Brooklyn reached for Kai's hand. Kai flinched and withdrew, backing up against the cardboard boxes. "You're different, but you already knew that didn't you Kai?" And he closed the distance with a kiss.

They broke apart panting. Brooklyn leaned heavily on the prone form of Kai with the phoenix left feeling as if something important had been taken away from him. Kai could literally count the beads of sweat that sprung on the cinnamon framed brow. Brooklyn's cat-like green eyes were hazy with desire and something else he couldn't identify. They stayed like that close and intimate, feeling every breath that rattled each other's throat before trickling out in to the atmosphere. Then the redhead's eyes cleared, he lovingly brushed the silver locks away from Kai's face.

"I'm not your friend Kai," said Brooklyn in a matter-of-fact way. "I am your equal, but I could be more." He tugged the Russian back on to his feet and off of the cardboard boxes.

"Why are you helping me?" Kai fingered his lips, freshly bruised from the brutal kiss Brooklyn had gifted him with. The said teen smiled radiantly before pulling Kai closer to himself.

"It's always sad when a bird is caged. It doesn't matter if it is better off staying behind the gilded bars a bird should always hold claim to the sky." Brooklyn kissed Kai once more on the forehead, this time a chaste farewell. Scratch that, there was nothing innocent about their twisted relationship. "Your cage is of your own making, I wonder if you can break free of it..." and Brooklyn let Kai go. "You only have so long, don't waste it ne Kai?"

Kai didn't know when or how he got out of the apartment, only aware that he was running as if he could suddenly sprout wings on his feet. He hit the line of trees, the last reminiscence of fall disappearing with the coming chill and kept on running. Kept on running because he knew, he knew on the other side would be Yuriy. Yuriy, with his handsome face pointed to the sky just waiting for him to come back.

Was he a fool for letting it become like this?

He was a fool either way, for loving him when it should have been casual camaraderie and unbreakable loyalty. Fits of jealousy, hurt and envy when it should have been solid friendship.

His feet bounced off of the dark earth, then on spongy grass, then on carefully laid pavement before he jumped and cleared the fence for what it seemed like the umpteenth time. Frightened sparrows and pigeons took off in a flurry of feathers and there... Kai was aware how madly his heart thudded in-between his ribs and wondered if he too could hear it.

Kai landed on Yuriy, legs straddling the slim waist hand hands on either side of the vermillion curtain cradling the Russian's head. Their lips a scant millimeter away from each other and Kai wondered if Brooklyn had foreseen this too, then he closed the distance with a passionate kiss of his own by the fountain in front of the Hiwatari manor.

-

-

They were there again, away from the prying eyes of the servants. Hiding out from their leaders because they couldn't be trusted to handle the truth, or could they?

"Kai's not supposed to be alive." At Boris' impatient flat look Ivan added hastily, "I mean that his birth wasn't... exactly planned."

"Explain,"

"How do you think bit-beasts are created?"

Now there was an age old question they had all privately nurtured during the colder nights. Neo Borg's bitbeasts were all man-made, even Kuro Suzaku was not a chance birth by something natural. They had all been created... but how?

"Cloning," Sergei stated flatly, "it's the only way they could have created Kuro Suzaku, by cloning the original. I don't know what they based ours off of but I can tell you right now that ours came after her."

"Him. Kuro Suzaku technically does not have a gender. But with Kai..."

"And this brings us to the subject of Kai and Kuro Suzaku how?"

"Elementary my dear Watson," replied Ivan mockingly. "Kai and Kuro Suzaku are supposed to be the same thing." when satisfied that he was not going to be interrupted for the duration of the explanation Ivan began to explain. "Yeah cloning, they acquired Suzaku from Kai's grandfather and had been trying to get a super-clone out of it."

"This is starting to sound like a bad movie..." ignoring Boris Ivan continued,

"Unfortunately, they didn't know how to keep a damned thing alive in that abbey," a snort from Boris, "they kept on killing the clones because they couldn't supply enough oxygen or whatever they were supposed to do."

"Wait one minute; you're saying that bit-beasts exist... physically?"

Ivan gave Sergei a dry look,

"Kinda late on the uptake aren't you? Geeze how do you thing Seaborg fights?"

"I thought they existed in another plane somewhere," retorted Sergei with as much dignity as he could muster, "maybe appear as a physical entity if called on, but most part spiritual."

"Well where were you when we started taking classes..." muttered Boris. Ivan waved his hand,

"Created bit-beasts tend to be easier to summon since most of them were created for fighting anyways. Also, since they weren't born in the other realm where pink unicorns and butterflies live; they really have no choice but to stick around."

"And..."

"So they actually need to be created within a living body. You can't exactly put a puff of gas in some kind of an incubator and hope it works."

"Dearest leader was dipped in a vat of liquid jello and he's fine..." Boris pointed out, "or not..." he added under his breath.

"He's a human... he's supposed to live and reproduce in this dimension." Ivan again ignored Boris' 'god, mini-Yuriys, where did we go wrong'. Seeing that Sergei might be the only one listening, he turned to face the burly blonde. "Anyways so they got a woman, got her pregnant and implanted the clone into the womb so it would grow in the body of the unborn fetus."

"If that woman was knocked up with a 'human' baby, shouldn't Kuro Suzaku be more... humanoid? As far as I can tell we mostly dissected animals though the whole rumor in the cafeteria about the mystery meat actually being the body of our dead comrades does seem quite possible right now."

"Who says Kuro Suzaku isn't humanoid?" at Ivan's grin the other two froze. "Anyways, the woman was the former wielder of Suzaku. That might have helped? Nine months later a baby was born and they successfully extracted the Suzaku's blacker half, what they didn't expect was for the boy to survive the whole process since it was his 'soul' that was supposed to be taken out."

"And the boy would be..."

"Kai," Sergei finished. "That sounds pretty far-fetched." Ivan shrugged,

"I'm only telling you what they told me, I only know the later parts. But Kai lived and they had no idea what to do with him."

"That means... Kuro Suzaku wasn't meant for Kai?"

"No. It was meant for his older brother who received the 'honor' after his mother volunteered for this project."

"Something went wrong," said Boris with uncharacteristic sagacity, "something always goes wrong."

"Da, it did. They began to wonder if they had extracted the right soul, they wondered if it wasn't _'Kai'_ that was in the bit."

"What happened?"

"Only one person in this world knows, maybe two if Kai remembers, but they're not willing to share..." Ivan seemed lost in thought, his red eyes focusing on something far away.

"You touched her, him..." Boris cupped his chin, bringing the boy's face into the light. With one finger, he delicately traced the lid, so different from Kai's but not unlike at all. "Your eyes... they didn't used to be that way... just like with Yuriy..." Sergei looked with interest. He too remembered Ivan's eyes being a shade duller, more hazel than red. "But his eyes..."

"Yuriy confronted Brooklyn after Kuro Suzaku took over, if Brooklyn does indeed have a god bit beast, he shouldn't suffer any effects from contact with Kai." Sergei seemed to be shaken by what all this meant. Boris pressed on,

"Yuriy?"

"Zeus takes away darkness..."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" for a long time no one answered than surprising even himself Boris said softly, "It means that Kai didn't betray us, In a way Kai never left us. It's we who left him, we who betrayed him and left him when he needed us the most."

Ivan grinned viciously, throwing a haunted look at Boris.

"You wanted to know the truth Boris? We are the traitors Boris, and that is the _truth about darkness..._"

Behind him, the sun began to rise...

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-

-

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**A.C.:** ...woah... it's like a sci-fi/supernatural now... -cringes-

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**Ayatsuji**- lol you guys are all the love I'll ever need ;D. Ehh TOEFL, have no idea actually, haven't even taken it yet. ;; kinda working backwards I took the SAT first (don't ask, it's a secret I'll take to my grave) so eh, I've been preparing-ish. Found out that I haven't been able to open a single English based workbook since the SAT. that makes it... kinda difficult. Just kinda. 

And yess... return to the darkside!

Or not. Good luck on your college thingy kay? –shakes head- another year...

**Sickofme- **ah thank you.

**Pikke Wood**- Well Brooklyn's gone... for now. Don't worry, this is strictly a Yuriy/Kai (-crosses fingers-)

**YuriyTalaIvanov**- the bunnies did it. Err... Kai's been having problems. Getting caught in a triangle between Brooklyn and Yuriy will do that to anyone. And umm... Kuro Suzaku's being restless of late, we'll see more of him/her from now on.


	10. Chapter 10: The Back View

**A.C.: **People who say that human beings spend 1/3rd of their lifetime asleep obviously have never missed a single day of sleep.

Yeah I'm sorry, the update's late but I had finals and the monitor died and you know... things just piled on top of another.

And it's my birthday today but I'll be in school, taking miserable-excuses-at-filling-up-hours for classes and be stuck taking additional classes till ten... And get home at eleven...

What a lovely life I lead...

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't suppose I'll ever own Beyblade

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-

_-_

* * *

_Fires no longer touched him._

_He stares at the broken embers impassively until the glare of the amber-red flames hurts his eyes. Still, he cannot help but see the smokeless heat beckoning. He can't help but see himself fall. _

-

-

"If they are fighting over the body, chances of Kai winning?"

"None, he's going head to head with a bit beast."

"You're forgetting that this is Kai we're talking about" Surgei nodded, "our mission?"

"Simple" Boris said easily, pocketing his knife. "If he becomes a threat... we eliminate him."

-

-

Outside Kai drew open the windows, letting in the clouded orange sunshine onto the dining room floor. He could have said it was finally winter.

The steam from the cup of tea clouded around the red disk as he drank from it. He raised his cup to the sun in a mock salute before emptying it in one shot. He placed the mug down on the window sill –taking care not to alert the inhabitants of the other room- and stared lethargically into the orange tinted windows, realizing that it was taking the sun longer and longer to reach up into the sky.

His vision askew, he raised his hand and gently placed it over the place where the ribs stopped encompassing his entire body. Closing his eyes in a silent prayer, he leaned against the window and obscured the sun completely.

It looked as if it was going to rain.

-

-

Daichi growled ominously at the sea of legs as he was again '_almost_' run over for the umpteenth time. Hiroshi had to literally grab the non-existent collar to hold him back before the redhead could take a bite out of a pair of curvaceous legs sashaying towards the coffee shop.

"Daichi, behave." and promptly wiped his hands down on his jeans. Takao, watching the whole exchange just laughed. Hiromi's cheeks began to inflate with an impatient air as she tapped her foot in annoyance.

"Mou... where is he?"

They, meaning Takao and the others, were waiting for Brooklyn, who was not there.

Brooklyn would be leaving to Japan to tour Europe and eventually head home, where ever that was. The disaster following the latest beyblade tournament had held the ginger-haired prodigy captive to the oriental country but now he would be set free.

'Probably to wreak havoc on whatever poor country he visits.' Hitoshi thought idly as he divided his attention over the four -children- all but jumping over the plush chairs of the airport. He palmed his face in irritation. Why did he agree to drive them over anyways?

-

-

Brooklyn finally arrived with luggage, fans sticking close behind. The prodigy greeted the members of BBA with a banal smile, exchanging a few elliptical words with Hitoshi before looking around. A bluenette and a redhead he noted in amusement, Takao and Daichi, not the ones he was looking for. He looked at his watch and saw that there is enough to time wait.

So he did.

Soon enough the crowd of people parted for them as did the red sea before Noah. Brooklyn smiled cheerfully as a familiar tattooed face graced them with his august presence. A group of people were getting their cell phones out and taking pictures. Others were attempting to get an autograph as Kai pushed forward, his slate eyebrows slightly quirked towards Brooklyn. Following the proud half-Russian was a disgruntled looking redhead accompanied by a burly blonde.

If anything the crowd grew wilder as they recognized them all as bladers.

"Oh my god that's Kai!"

"Cool, it's that guy who faced off against Kinomiya on the last round."

"OMG MARRY ME!!"

Letting Takao and the airport security deal with the fanatics, Kai spat a quiet laugh to the side and held his hand out. Brooklyn looked back at him in surprise. The dual-haired teen was more than glad to find that the prodigy's hair was their original shimmering green. He had never loved heroes after all.

"Brooklyn... thank you..."

For the first time Kai could remember Brooklyn smiled without a hint of deceit. The light was near blinding from the windows but the image of the redhead prodigy in the sun, his white clothing glowing like the wings of an angel, stayed with him for a long time.

Brooklyn took Kai's hand and they shook hands.

"Any time."

-

-

When Brooklyn had left, Hitoshi approached Kai. Yuriy tossed the man a dangerous grin. The former BEGA coach ignored it. There were some things in life scarier than physical pain. Watching Kai, taking care of Takao, and coaching Brooklyn was something that would have killed a lesser man. Hitoshi cut to the chase knowing that their conversations more often than not left bitter tastes in their mouth afterwards.

"Stay away from him."

Kai raised an immaculate eyebrow as Sergei returned, having finished calling back to Ivan.

"I thought that was your job."

"You're interfering."

Kai shrugged and got up from his seat. Sergei looked in disinterest before talking to Yuriy in rapid Russian. Hitoshi narrowed his eyes at the blonde, the blonde stared blandly. Breaking the two apart in a hand motion Yuriy jerked his head towards the parking lot and left. A small blessing, they had left the two alone.

"I haven't seen him since the day at the park. You cannot blame me for every time he disappears Hitoshi."

By now the crowd had been restrained and everything else from announcements of delays to arrival of planes drowns out their voice. Hitoshi had left Takao and Daichi occupied with ten thousand yen with Hiromi and Kyoujyuu supervising. Knowing his brother and the little tagalong's appetites, he knew that he was more or less flushing his money down the toilet. But he needed to talk to Kai.

Perhaps make amends for what he had done.

"You can't..." Hitoshi started sounding strained. "You can't blame me for everything either."

Kai's eyes were cutting as he probed the man's tense face.

"But I don't," he said finally, his face blank. "You do." And he walked towards the exit, stopping only to add, "hold your head up," Hitoshi's fist clenched and unclenched as Kai seemingly phased through the crowds pushing at the entrance of customs. "Don't you dare show them your weakness..."

-

-

"Kai, Kai!!"

Kai quietly contemplated on not answering. He _had _agreed not to approach the younger Kinomiya after all.

'_But what if he approaches me? What then?'_

Takao's face burst out in a grin as Kai stopped; face half-turned to see the navy-haired boy come up to him.

"Takao," Kai greeted flatly, doing little more than lower his eyelids to acknowledge the bluenette. Undaunted, Takao grabbed Kai's shoulder –delighted that he didn't push him away- and began to follow him out of the exit. At the familiar gesture, some of the people stopped to gawk while others -again- took pictures. Having had enough with the flashes, Kai moved away from the blue-eyed boy. Seconds later Takao caught up though he did not try to make physical contact with the red-eyed teen again.

"How've you been?" Takao asked softly.

Kai gave him a brief look over and shrugged. There wasn't much that he was willing to share with his once-teammate.

"I'm sorry about Kane I mean, he didn't mean it. He's just like really mad after his teammates..."

Kai snorted.

"Of course, it wasn't as if mine weren't. It isn't as if I myself was carried off to the hospital for my endeavors."

Takao cringed visibly as they exited the airport. It was slightly misty out, not quite rain but damp, mist-rain.

"Sorry..."

The next words were caught off as Kai spun around and slammed him against the glass walls. The people on the other side up got up in surprise at the sound and the sight of a boy being pushed around by another. Kai glared through the glass and they quickly looked away. Takao let out a breathy moan as his head cleared. He turned his face to the side and saw Kai's hand there, clenched around a dagger.

Takao's face paled to the color of ashes. Kai peeled himself off of the teen, idly playing with his newfound toy. Calming himself Takao got off from the glass wall and stood sheepishly by Kai's side. He wasn't entirely sure what that had been about but it wasn't as if Kai had tried to harm him...

...had he?

The Dragoon blader had to admit that he liked the sensation of having the older teen on top of him. He blushed furiously as million and one thoughts flashed through his head all ending up in pieces as they crashed against one another.

Takao continued to steal glimpses of him when he thought Kai wasn't looking. Kai had half a mind to introduce the younger to his left fist. Takao should have known that now of all times was not the one to go around like a lovesick puppy.

"Takao."

Hitoshi had found them. He looked incensed at the sight of the duo so close together side by side. Kai thought he heard a tone of underlying fear in the elder's voice. He shrugged and stepped away from the younger blader. Takao looked torn and frustrated. As the older Kinomiya began to berate the younger, Kai threw the dagger at the man. Hitoshi caught it easily in his hand and turned it over instinctively.

The hilt was woven with strings of yellow and red, a strand of green knotted through the middle like a blade of spring grass.

"You should clean out your backyard more often," Kai suggested with a trademark smirk. Meanwhile, Takao's eyes widened.

"What's going on?" He managed to stammer out.

Hitoshi stiffened instinctively. Kai's eyes hardened in barely noticeable disgust. "What's going on?" Takao repeated, this time with more force behind his inquiry. Hitoshi pinched the bridge of his nose. The man's hand inadvertently closed around the dagger. The blade dug into the calloused palm drawing blood. Kai watched the red beads swell up from the creases of the man's hand and flow down to the wrist. Takao however, didn't seem to notice. "I'm not stupid," he instead, "I notice things. I _know_ things. What's going on?"

Neither answered, Kai turned away as if remembering something. Takao held a hand out, not wanting to let the slate-haired young man leave. Hitoshi held him back and near wrestled him to the ground.

"If you know..." Hitoshi said angrily as a punch to his jaw pushed him off of the squirming body. "If you know... then you should know not to get involved."

-

-

Sergei sighed as he looked over the diagnostics the doctors had given him. Beneath those of his teammates, he had also taken the liberty of printing out reports of team Psykicks. A bit of data never hurt, he figured Ivan could have a field day scouring the servers checking over what he had and what he didn't.

The Psykicks, or at least three-fourths of them, were currently in a coma. No one knew who their attacker had been and the remaining one-forth was beside himself with worry, lashing out at the world in fury. Kai had kindly placed a restraining order on him after the assault in the park. A grin of irony tugged at the blonde's mouth. He stared back blandly when he saw a group of students goggling with fascination they regularly bestowed on foreigners. The girls giggled amongst themselves, the boys dropped their curious gazes to the ground muttering and kicked cans.

Just a couple of kids...

The mist turned to rain.

Someone opened up an umbrella.

-

-

"Sorry coming through." Ivan ran between the servants –though not before giving the new maids an appreciative leer- and nearly barreled into Kai. Actually they ended up bouncing off of another and on there backs on the one area where there was no rich carpeting to cushion their fall.

Ivan sat up immediately hissing and rubbing the back of his head furiously. Kai however, seemed to have no intention of getting up at all. He blinked for a few moments as if to clear his star-struck vision before fumbling for a wall.

"Haven't we talked about running in the hallway?"

"Ehh we have..." replied Ivan sounding contrite. Standing up, he looked down at Kai's face. "Need help?"

"No." Kai sat up and got to his feet.

"Ehh... you ok?"

"I'm not sure..." said Kai somewhat dreamily. Ivan stared in shock. Shaking his head Kai rasped, "Now why were you running when I told you specifically..."

"Yeah no running in the hallway..." and he added beneath his breath, "Until I can be seen without bending over, stupid, stupid Boris." Faced with Kai's somewhat amused expression Ivan began to explain.

"Sergei's not back yet."

"It's raining right now; it's likely the traffic slowed him down."

"Sergei _loves_ rain. He would have more than likely tried to run home once he saw it starting to get really wet out there."

"Hnn..." Kai stared listlessly out the window. "Are you going to go after him?"

"Not through that, I mean if it was an emergency yes but..." Ivan elaborated with gestures involving footwork. "I'm worried." He finished lamely. "I have a bad feeling."

"Wait, you have a bad feeling? I'm the one who had to go make rounds today!" Yuriy stumbled in, covered head to toe with dripping towel. He scowled discontentedly at the duo and rubbed his hair down. "So what's going on?" and whispered only for Kai to hear –though Ivan heard it anyways- "what are you seeing out there..."

Strange, Ivan thought, watching the two interact, but he wasn't quite sure why it was odd.

"Ivan go after Sergei with Yuriy..."

"!... I just got back..."

"I'm going to go and find Boris. Even if this is a false alarm, it'd be nice for all of us to patrol the city one last time." Here Yuriy sputtered 'in that?!' "And Ivan," perhaps he and Kai had more than hit his head hard on the wooden flooring. "Take your phone."

Because he had been touched by Kuro Suzaku once upon a time and knew, he or she no longer existed where he was standing..

-

-

"You won't get away with this,"

"What?" the blunette's voice was friendly but her green eyes were toxic with contempt. "Will the gods strike us dead where we stand? Don't make me laugh tough guy, There is no one that can stop us right now." Sergei jerked as Miriam gave him a kick in the head.

"You are afraid, that's why you have me here isn't it?" Miriam pulled his head up by the bristly blonde locks, her green eyes spitting poison. "You're afraid of Kai." Miriam slapped him. Joseph protested but it was too late. With that swift action she had possibly confirmed all of her team's doubts and fears. She slapped him again for a good measure, but she couldn't stop how his eyes probed knowingly and how his deep laughter seemed to drown out everything else.

* * *

-

-

* * *

** Ayatsuji:** -winces- sorry for the long wait, ;.; 

Ahh I'll never fit through the door at this rate. My head's getting all bloated again... why must you do that to me-? x3

You're probably celebrating summer break right now (_lucky!!_) wonder if I can wrap this up before September... probably not heh

(TOEFL was fine thank you, the only problem was that they had no working bathrooms at the test center... ugh)

-(hearts) A.C.

** Nameless Little Girl:** Glad you did :D


	11. Chapter 11: Advent

**A.C.: **Even after cutting out a few parts it's till almost 4000 words. What is with that? –Shakes head-

Yea… long time no see... no I don't really have a valid excuse?

Well it's kinda hard to write when you have to explain to every single passerby that no, it's not an English assignment and yes, I am doing it of free-will... surprisingly enough.

This chapter is dedicated to that big fishy in a tank at school that died yesterday. No really, I'm being completely serious. R.I.P. fishy, no one really knew your name or cared but hey, you and your friends broke up the monotonous white walls of our school. I hope you aren't in our lunch tomorrow just so that the cafeteria can save money.

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't suppose I'll ever own Beyblade

* * *

-

-

* * *

Rain, Hitoshi decided, wasn't something bad to drown in. He clicked his tongue when he realized that his thoughts had been drifting and turned his attention towards the four _full_ teenagers sitting in the back of the van.

Daichi was humming cheerfully to himself (after two hamburgers, a large cup of coke, and three apple pies) while Hiromi steadily kicked the back of his seat in a vain attempt to shut him up. Kyoujyu was fiddling with his laptop again and Takao looked out the window looking almost poignant. Almost –meaning the little brother in question kept throwing him accusatory glares when he thought Hitoshi wasn't looking. The only reaction the man gave to this treatment is a brief thinning of the lips. He still hadn't let go of the dagger Kai had given him. He dropped it in his lap; he could possibly get run through if there was an accident in the nearest future.

'_Morbid are we?'_

He said loudly,

"Something wrong Takao?"

Takao looked away guiltily. Hitoshi didn't have to peer into the rearview mirror to know.

"Nothing's wrong."

'_And nothing ever is.'_

-

-

"Wake up sleeping beauty, we're here."

"Ah..."

Boris frowned irritably at the young man.

"That's all you can come with? Ah?"

Kai shrugged and ran his hand through his unruly hair. The silvery-slate spikes immediately stood back up when Kai attempted to assemble some order into his bangs, Boris watched on with a faint grin.

"And where exactly is _here_?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me."

Sea docks, misty and sour with the smell of salt and rotting fish, miles away from where he had rejoined Neo Borg months ago. Boris crinkled his nose. It was still raining so the smell had somewhat abated, but for the young man trained as a soldier from birth it was revolting.

"Better get started hmm?"

They smoothly turned around to face the dozens of warehouses used to store ships and supplies over the turbulent winter. The gray sea crashed furiously over the docks behind them. Shaking his head at their hesitation, Boris let out an amused bark and held a hand languidly towards the steel doors.

"After you,"

Kai withheld a smile and sneered instead.

"Hn... if you insist."

Eyes quietly watched from shadows.

-

-

"I thought the yakuza were territorial." Yuriy sneezed as he finally gave up on his umbrella. He threw the broken contraption into Ivan's awaiting arms. The younger Russian patiently realigned the delicate folds and pushed the button. He could have sworn that he heard a low growl coming from his redhead leader as he snickered under the open umbrella. Eyebrows twitching, Yuriy took back the umbrella, biting down on the urge to mention his companion's lack of stature.

"Kai says he hadn't had the time, 'sides, this isn't his place and Kai isn't exactly a member of a Yakuza..."

"...he acts like one."

"Just because he bosses you around a bit before you two get down to business..."

Yuriy snorted, slightly miffed as Ivan hit a sore spot.

"Man this place is filthy."

Ivan sighed and rolled his eyes. He was glad that they were speaking in Russian right now. If the inhabitants of this particular sector of the city ever got a hold of how Yuriy was shooting his mouth off, they would be lucky to just face members of fabled Japanese gangs.

"Odd isn't it... all this time he's actually been here. It is as if he had been waiting..."

"Waiting for what?" Yuriy's voice dropped decibels and into the tone of 'no man's zone', a pitch usually reserved for his more stingy adversaries. Ivan immediately backed off and shrugged helplessly.

"Who the hell knows what goes in that mind of his. Maybe nothing, there's so much you can expect from a guy who reads..." a chunk of concrete fell from the skies onto the ground below. It smashed into pieces by their feet sending fragments of gray cloud ricocheting off their pant legs as they blocked with the umbrella. It was a crude method, not intended to kill --an alert, a warning.

"Well there they are." Yuriy's eyes were sharp, the enlarged pupils overshadowing the pale blue. They darted up the heavy beams of an unfinished building to the metallic frame of the crane balanced precariously over its seemingly too-small body. They sought the shadows, any nook or cranny where their quarry might have hidden. The rain drowned out any possibility of illusions through echoes and when Yuriy finally caught sight of yellow and red leggings.

They had touched one of them, not an offense taken lightly. Ivan drew out a handgun and tossed it at Yuriy. The redhead caught it single handedly and jerked his head upwards. Ivan nodded, grimacing. The Saint Shields had taken Sergei for a reason, they wanted something from them --more specifically they wanted something from Kai. But they would soon realize they had bitten off more than they could handle when they messed with the Blitzkrieg.

-

-

"About time you got here." Ground out a familiar voice, Boris looked at the pair of glowing blue eyes with a feral grin. He casually slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small revolver.

"Having fun Sergei?" His voice was casual, almost joking. But there was an undercurrent of steel that would have made others think twice before replying.

"My life's a party," Sergei answered dryly, neck popping from stiff joints.

The dim lights came on and Boris stared unimpressed at their drab surroundings. The boy, teen, man, moved remarkably fast for one of his bulk. But then he shouldn't have been surprised. His partner Sergei was one of the fastest people he's ever had the pleasure of meeting, though it didn't seem like that speed had helped out any.

Thick bronze fingers wrapped around Boris' neck and squeezed experimentally. He felt a quick burn at his side as a bit of steel broke through the fabric of his jacket and prodded against the skin over his ribcage. A green-eyed girl edged toward him timidly, a head full of wispy brown hair. Armed with whatever reassurances the brute behind him had given her; she removed the revolver from his hands as he smiled brazenly. She then placed it on the ground and kicked it, presumably towards the corner of the warehouse where it would be lost within the shadows. She then scurried away, like a frightened mice before a hungry falcon.

"Stay there Colleen." The man behind him called quietly and pressed down on the point where his jaws connected below his ears. Boris growled, curling his lips and parting his teeth before throwing a contemptuous look at his blonde friend.

"Losing our touch are we?"

The blonde Russian shrugged as best as he could with his arms tied around his body. The ropes held fast and dug into the raw skin. The pipe which he was tied to groaned with effort as Sergei leaned against it.

"I've been busy, what's your excuse?"

There was a small click. Dunga felt the blunt end of a cold metal pressed against the base of his skull. Boris finally looked at the green-eyed blonde. Kai stood behind them, his index finger nonchalantly brushing against the trigger.

"I have back up."

"Do you?"

A voice purred, seductive like dark honey. Miriam held a dagger, a twin to the one Hitoshi now held, over the curve of Kai's shoulders. The silver tip pointed towards the dual-haired teen's collarbone in a dangerous suggestion. Kai didn't so much as blink and jabbed his handgun against Dunga's skull when the blonde tried to turn around. The girl's jade like green eyes narrowed until there was nothing more than luminous slits in the shadows behind the dark phoenix. She hissed softly, "You might not want to do that Hiwatari."

"Miriam, I see your talents are sorely wasted."

"High praise... from someone unworthy like you."

"Oho Hiwatari, cheating on the 'Wolf' already? He won't take that well, his kind are monogamous... supposedly." Behind him, Boris heard a brief snort of amusement. The platinum-haired young man allowed the smallest of smiles to curve his lips.

"Please."

Impatient as always, Dunga squeezed harder as he pressed down on the windpipe with his index finger. Boris wheezed through his teeth and grumbled but otherwise didn't show any reaction to the attempted suffocation. Dunga grunted in pain when he felt the rim of muzzle cut deeper against his skin. Boris immediately grabbed the knife by the bladed end and slammed the hilt into the blonde's stomach. The green-eyed man gasped and dropped to his knees.

"Dunga!" the cry was from the dark-skinned girl with opaque green eyes. She attempted to reach out to the turban wearing blonde before being warded off by a warning look from Miriam.

Before the dark-skinned blonde could get up, Boris kicked him in the face and knocked him down against the ground. Kai took advantage of the distraction and kicked Miriam's feet from beneath her. In the same flowing motion, he sent Miriam's dagger clattering against the floor by Sergei's feet.

The blonde Russian put his foot down on the dagger and stopped it from spinning away. He then squatted down and began to work away at his bounds. Colleen did not make a move to stop him, too focused on the scene playing out before the register the threat of two enemies becoming three. Seeing that Sergei had the situation well at hand now that the cavalry was here, Kai inclined his head slowly towards the broken windows. The blonde nodded back.

"I see certain someone hasn't been cleaning out his backyard of late." Boris sneered, dropping the bloodied knife in front of Dunga's face. The green-eyed young man bore his teeth back up at the pale-haired Russian. Boris smiled easily and set his foot down on the man's neck.

"Hn..."

Miriam was seething, unused to being stared down at anyone even if that someone happened to be Kai.

It was unsettling, it made her feel like prey.

"This is our turf," Dunga wheezed out, veins bulging as he tried in vain to get the falcon's foot off. Colleen gave out a small whimper, the only thing visible left of her being her watery green eyes.

"Wrong," Kai replied, not taking his eyes off of the green-eyed blunette. "This area doesn't belong to anyone... not unless your name happens to be Kinomiya Hitoshi."

-

-

"I think..." Takao spoke up, "We should go visit Kane tomorrow. I mean he and the others are still there right?"

"Good idea," Hitoshi agreed, not really paying attention. The rain fell hard across the front window. The glass wipers waved like the dozen hands of fanatics as he made a turn at the next corner.

"Hey big bro?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you hate Kai so much?"

Everyone stilled at this question. Even Daichi, who was only seconds ago, squirming in his seat because the 'hag' was three millimeters from turning terminator on him, swallowed back his insults and carefully peered at the two brothers. Kyoujyu gave a mental moan and hugged his laptop close. Hiromi held her breath and pressed her temple to the head of the seat, eager to hear what was there to be said.

"I don't hate him." Hitoshi answered finally as they pulled over in front of a small restaurant. Kyoujyu took this as a cue and said his goodbyes scrambling for the front door of his restaurant-house before the storm damaged his precious laptop. "And he probably doesn't hate me as much as he wants the world to think."

Takao pulled a face in confusion, struck by the good fortune of having the older Kinomiya talk for once. In the worst case scenario, he could always ask Hiromi later as to what he meant. The girl was staring at the slate-haired man as if seeing him in a new light. Her eyes glittered strangely but understandingly, and it was enough for Takao to push on.

"But then why do you guys always fight when you're near each other?"

"We don't _always_ fight," Hitoshi stressed, unable to deny that he and Kai didn't have the best of relationships. "Most of the time you just see us stare at each other and be standoffish. You didn't see me throwing fists last time I was with him did you?"

Takao ruefully rubbed a spot in his jaw, a healthy mirror from Hitoshi's. The man's jaw was slightly discolored, a pale shade of purplish red.

"You could say it's a mutual relationship... since both parties are kind of required to make it work..."

"Hating each other?"

'No, perhaps loving each other too much.'

Hitoshi didn't answer, once again lost to the memoirs only he could read left in the language of fallen rain.

"Enough Takao."

-

-

With an almost supersonic cry of challenge, the girl Colleen jumped out of her hiding spot and tackled Boris onto the ground. Boris landed heavily on his back, the green-eyed girl clawing at his face as he fought to shove her off. Dunga immediately grabbed her thin waist and held her loosely in one arm as his fist met the side of the falcon's head. Dazed, Boris spat out a few choice words before staggering to his knees.

Working quickly, Sergei hurled the dagger at the other blonde. He missed, never having worked with the finer aspect of knife-_throwing_. Kai ducked as the blade headed his way. Miriam wasn't fast enough. The knife caught the top of her ponytail and snapped the thin piece of silk holding it together. The length of her blue hair split down her spine like snaking waters. She jumped over Kai's low kick and latched onto him, choking him using only her arms.

Kai shook her off with a snarl and she landed on her feet, the finger tips of her left hand scraping against the concrete flooring of the warehouse as she skidded to a stop. Biting back a curse Kai brought out his gun and pushed the safety off.

Miriam had a gun.

"Sergei!" the blonde looked up and saw that Miriam was heading for him. Boris' eyes cleared as he heard Kai's warning call. He head butted Dunga's stomach and felt him go down with a belch of air. The girl in his arm squirmed out of his grip and threw herself at Boris' leg, intent on hindering his efforts at rejoining his friends. And with nothing in sight to use as neither a weapon nor a shield, Sergei reached around his neck and revealed a pendant attached to a slim chain.

A giant whale unveiled itself, immobile without a proper medium but enough to keep Sergei alive until he could duck for cover. Miriam dodged sideways and launched a top into the air. A giant shark came screeching, its teeth already buried in Seaborg's head as Sergei fought to keep the apparition alive.

Kai shot at the blunette twice but was forced to duck when a top flew by his head and rebounded off the metal drums before whirling its way towards him. Kai closed one eye as he aimed and fell when Boris was thrown backwards against him.

"Dammit Colleen! Go back and hide!"

Sergei counted down the bare seconds Seaborg had within the physical realm. Sharkrash was unrelenting, several of its teeth broken and stuck to the giants head but still intent on holding on as her mistress had bid. Miriam aimed and shot, and was surprised when she found that the bullet didn't go through the Seaborg's tail but rather bounced off and rolled to a stop on the floor. The whale roared at her, his great mouth agape and intent on swallowing her whole. Sharkrash bit down on the wing-like fins and pushed him off course, for the moment.

Kai shoved Boris' foot off of his head and aimed for Miriam's legs. At the angle he was laying, he couldn't aim for the more critical spots but he was willing to take whatever came his way, even if the blue-haired Saint Shield was most likely to haunt him for life after being crippled.

"No!!" Colleen landed on the tangle of limbs, one of her hand keeping Kai's jaw shut while the other hand busied itself with trying to hold her top the right way as to stab him. With an enraged roar, Boris finally detangled one arm from where it had been, trapped beneath the combined weight of their bodies. A throwing-knife appeared out of his sleeve, he jammed it up the girl's knee and forced it down, relishing the sound of tearing muscles and the cry of pain as she struggled to scramble off of their backs.

"Vortex Ape!"

Two against one as the simian bit beast entered the fray. But Dunga headed their way, intent on rescuing the mousy-haired Saint Shield as she tried to get away from the two Blitzkrieg.

"Kill them if you have to Dunga!" Miriam ordered as Seaborg bit down on Sharkrash's midsection and completed a twisted loop. The two bit beasts crashed down against the ground. Sharkrash's bey remained frozen in between Miriam and Sergei as Seaborg tore desperately at the smaller creature's spine. But Seaborg was steadily losing ground, unable to move to protect itself and gain leverage over both the shark and the primate.

Seeing this Kai fired and managed to hit Dunga's calves. The blonde went down, bellowing in agony. Immediately, Vortex Ape turned around and its bey began to spin its way towards the two. Boris jumped past the grey bey as did Kai. The hairy arms rose to intercept the slate-haired teen. They passed through harmlessly, arcing through midair before coming to a stop back down its side.

Dunga's eyes widened.

"Shit, Miriam! he can't touch him!"

"What?!"

A fist to his jaw and Dunga went down, feeling as if he had been hit by a car. Boris stood over him, rubbing his gloved fist smugly as he stepped on and over him. Kai finally gave up trying to dodge the persistent top and shot at the base when it came too close for comfort. With a spray of plastic and metal bits, the bey whirled down to a stop.

"Boris, get Sergei!"

Seaborg had finally failed, the dying light of the bit beast fading in Sergei's hands. The blonde Russian quickly rushed forward and drove a fist in the girl's stomach. Miriam flew back with a cry but she didn't go down in vain. Instinctively, her finger pulled the trigger. The shot went wild the first time but when she landed, she had a clear shot of him out in the open. Sergei looked at her as if seeing at her for the first time. He didn't even blink as the second bullet penetrated his torso and tore a teacup-sized hole in his back.

"Sergei!!"

Miriam shot for the third time and then the fourth. The third grazed the Russian's arm and the fourth missed completely. The blunette stood and limped haltingly over towards him, her stolen gun trained on the immobile

"What can you accomplish from this Miriam?" Kai hissed, "If you kill him, be assured that you will not get out if this alive."

"We're all expendable in the grand scheme of things Hiwatari." Miriam laughed loud and hysterically like a woman possessed. She had come too far to turn around now, she had known ever since their paths had crossed with the latest holders of the four guardians of Asia. She knew that with time, Kai, Max, Ray, and Takao would have to give them up to the inevitability. The god-like bit beasts they held were not toys; they were something too powerful to be possessed by any human alive or dead. And no one, not even Takao could keep his heart pure forever. "Will you miss him when he's dead? Come on; say your farewells while you still can."

"You... bitch..." The platinum haired falcon cursed himself for his stupidity. He held out his knives tightly between his fingers, the shortened hilt digging into the soft webbing between them. Whatever happened, he knew, if she decided to take the shot, there was no way that he would be fast enough to save his friend.

Sergei coughed, blood beginning to bubble from the back of his throat. Miriam held Boris' gun to the blue-eyed blonde's head. Otherwise from wincing in discomfort at the close proximity of the girl Sergei remained unresponsive. His eyebrows quirked inquisitively when he caught sight of the Russian and a half staring at him stunned.

"Sergei." Kai's voice was cold, cutting in the still air. But Boris still caught the pitched end of what sounded like hesitation. "Stop fooling around."

Sergei offered the green-eyed girl a knowing look as she pulled the trigger back.

"Yeah Serg," Boris cleared his throat. "Stop being so pessimistic."

"Realistic," the blonde corrected with a small grin. And he turned towards the slate-haired half Russian, nodding. "You were wrong Kai, you did the right thing. And we..." he quieted the falcon with an almost serene look. "...We believe you."

-

-

A shot rang out within the warehouse.

-

-

Gray matter and yellow fluids splattered across the floor. Why was there such little blood? Kai wondered privately as Sergei fell and fell... it was odd because for a moment, Kai truly believed that the big blonde would never hit the floor.

The dam held.

He choked and nothing happened.

But then, nothing was supposed to.

Kai closed his eyes.

-

-

They dropped off Kyoujyu back at his family's restaurant to the dismay of a certain redhead and a bluenette who still wanted to eat even after being treated a full course at McDonalds. Hiromi muttered something about pigs and thanked Hitoshi when she jumped out of the van, her sneakers sinking into the mud puddle below.

Hitoshi's shoulder suddenly jerked and the van veered off course. The van lurched sideways, crisscrossing over the white lines of the cross section and sending everyone else screaming for their lives. Steering wheel already spun 360 degrees; the former coach of BEGA performed an illegal U-Turn to the horror of the riders in the backseat and other drivers out on the street. Horns blared loudly as other drivers shouted obscenities at the back of their van.

Hitoshi pressed his foot down on the accelerator, his eyes no longer processing the rain.

-

-

Brooklyn stirred the lukewarm contents of his half-drank tea as if he could divine some untold future through the ripples across the clear surface. His parents argued over his head (about his latest 'accident') but he paid it no mind. He peered into the cup smiling poured milk into it. The milk slopped and spilt messily across the table. His parents stopped arguing immediately. Without looking up he said softly "oops."

-

-

"Oy, Ivan!"

The indigo haired Russian leaned heavily against the safety fence, his legs weak and stomach suddenly very painful. His fingers clenched and loosened unconsciously against the pipes and he fought to clear his vision, just as Yuriy wrenched his shoulder backwards and slammed him against the wall. Ivan's head rolled slightly on his neck as the pain in his gut was replaced by the dull ache in his head. Fingers crawled and Ivan's gloved hand grasped Yuriy's with the extraordinary strength of a drowning man. For all the rain that fell from above, he might as well have been.

Ivan's eyes, through the cover of his hair, were not his own. They had never been the same since the 'Black Dranzer' incident but lately they had all agreed that his eyes were lightening, more hazel than red. Now they were burning auburn, visible even through the lack of lighting.

"Something's happened..."

* * *

-

-

* * *

**A.C.:** hmm an OC with a name -squints-

Proof-read it as best as I could but I'm sure I'll find a dozen mistakes later on.

Ehh got to get back chem., byeeeeee

(Crap, I just killed Sergei didn't I?)

-

**Ayatsuji-** I have no real life. School is my unwilling mistress, maybe it's the other way around.

You must be in college right now –is envious- don't worry about it; I'm sure you'll do fine.

Uhh... I turned 18, still in high school, can't drive, can't drink... hehehe... there's something sad about this situation but I can't quite point my finger on it. ㄱ-ㄱ;;

x33333333333

You're one of the better reasons why I write this. -heart-

**Tacks**- -grins- nope

Writing about BB is not the same when Kai's not in it... -cough-


	12. Chapter 12: Calling

**A.C.:** Yesh... I have been gone for a long time haven't I...

**Disclaimer:** don't own it -.-

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

* * *

For reference... 

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

...And I think that's it

* * *

-

-

* * *

_He dreams of flames because that is where he imagines he would be, in hell with the temptations of the saffron sky stretched above him. He can't help but dream because it is the only thing he's known in his life, always falling an inch too short, denied the bonds he should have made, those he should have had. So he dreams and continues to look up thirstily up at the skies almost as if they could fill his stomach, free him from his cage. The fires always leap high, not hot enough, and never enough to give him the pain he craves and surely deserves. So he dreams and dreams, he dreams of the walls melting, the sky falling and the world drowning._

_He dreams of flames that would set him free._

-

-

Sergei fell sideways accompanied by a meaty thud, his face pressed against the floor and hidden from view. With an exultant snort Miriam straightened her skirt, the front of which a darker red from the squirt of blood. Colleen's fingers barred her wide, green eyes. Dunga got up, his arm gently cradling his side as he watched the blunette bathing in the afterglow of her first kill. It was something they had all been prepared for after all. What was the life of one against millions who would suffer both directly and indirectly should the gods turn upon them? So he turned his head and faced the remaining Russian and a half, shell-shocked and glued to their spot.

"Watch Colleen," Miriam addressed the whimpering girl, her hair magnificent blue waves against her face. "Honor the fallen," it was an adage, preparing one's transition throughout one's life. Sharkrash spun around with a low hum. Boris didn't bother looking at it but Kai tilted his head and twitched, the garnet-eyed teen was listening. Dunga mutely directed his bey forward, "be proud of what you are..."

-

-

Hitoshi drummed his fingers restlessly against the steering wheel as the traffic around them passed by in a crawl. At the back of his mind, he felt a modicum of guilt for the three teenagers (two brats and one girl) quivering in each other's embrace. But Hitoshi had never felt the tugs so strongly before. For an ephemeral moment, it was as if a supernova had gone off in his stomach with only the fragile layers of his skin to contain it. It was like having twin light bulbs stuck to the back of his eyes, showing him where he needed to go and what to do.

As he took the next exit leading off the ramp, he briefly wondered if Takao could feel it. Or had his caution in breaking off the boy's contact with the rogue phoenix shattered what bonds they might have created between them. Takao's eyes –as he held a squirming Daichi out to shield himself- were blue, not red.

He relaxed, about an inch.

Not like his, even less like Kai's.

"Stay here ok?"

Rain fell in thick, fat droplets. Heavy clouds spun above their heads until it looked like an entire herd of muddy, gray sheep had been thrown into the sky.

Hitoshi dug into his back pockets and threw a roll of balled up yen into the cushioned passenger seat in the middle of the van. The teenagers flinched visibly as the wad of paper landed with a mute plop.

Opening the door, Hitoshi could already tell that they were close to the ocean. He tasted the salt in the wind as he felt the rain soak him down to the skin. Making sure that the three seemed as though they would stay put, Hitoshi ran towards the docks.

Takao, Daichi, and Hiromi could only watch anxiously as the man disappeared into the rain.

-

-

Had the rain grown harder?

The sound of water droplets rattling the tin surface of the warehouse was distracting, disturbing. The lantern above swayed with the wind, hypnotically expanding and contracting the shadows by their feet. And still they had not moved, or at least he had not moved, even when it became evident that the Saint Shields were not satisfied with the killing of their oldest member.

'_Foolish...'_

'_Let's...'_

'_...Stay...'_

'_Me'_

The words came to him in broken fragments with the torrent of rain. Bile rose in his throat but he fought it back down, his fists clenching and unclenching in cadence to the silent bell still ringing mournfully in his ears. He had seen people die before, many more because of him, but never one who he considered a brother, a friend. Never one whom he believed was so invincible.

'_Let... go...'_

Kai hadn't realized that Boris had drawn his arm back before thrusting forward. He hadn't noticed the shout of warning, the sharp whistle as the knives flew through the air.

'_Let me go...'_

Miriam screamed as the knives tore into her right hand and lower arm. The first two shaved the tip of her right pinky and the ring finger off as the third blade struck her in the elbow and the fourth buried itself in the wood between her armpits. She dropped the gun. Immediately, Sharkrash took a defensive position in front of her, Vortex Ape providing the much needed back up to the exhausted bit beast.

'Stop'

Boris launched Falborg. The sky-colored raptor screeched her challenge in answer to her master's call. The blue bey quickly ran loops around Vortex Ape, hook-like claws sinking into the image of the bit beast above.

A dun bey crashed into the side of the blue falcon. The raptor screeched indignantly as she was ground between the two tops, Colleen's bit-less dun and Dunga's Vortex Ape. The simian bit beast wrapped its hand around Falborg's right wing and began to pull. Boris staggered sideways as if he had been hit. With an audible crack, Falborg's right wing dislocated and hung uselessly down at her side as she screamed obscenities at her opponents. She then lashed out, clipping the bit-less bey and sending it spinning across the dust covered floor. However the victory was short lived as Vortex Ape tackled her, intent on bringing her down.

The sound of grinding metal spurred Kai into action.

"Yuuya!"

The phoenix's cry was crass and hollow compared the sonorous tone of his counterparts but it effectively brought the one-sided battle to an end. The iron-gray bey downed Sharkrash before cowing Colleen's into a corner. With a sweep of its metallic wings, Yuuya crashed into Vortex Ape and wrapped himself around the other bit beast as if he was a serpent rather than an avian.

'_Let me go, let them die... it doesn't matter'_

'... You'

The last word came out as a half-whine but he wasn't sure if he had said it out loud. Kai put a hand on Boris' shoulder and wrenched it backwards, turning the platinum-haired man's attention towards him. A fist struck him in the face as Boris lashed out. Seemingly just as astonished to see the dual-haired blader nursing his fast darkening jaws.

"We have to go. We..." he couldn't continue. How could he when finishing the sentence would have been admitting that they had failed. He had failed. He had failed against a bunch of nobodies with a rock. He watched warily as Boris reached out tentatively to tap his fingertips against the bruises. "It's not worth it, Sergei might still be alive."

"Why haven't you gone to him then?"

'_Stay...'_

A finger ghosted over the curve of his neck.

Impossible, it would have had to go through his scarf first.

'_Let go.'_

'_...Let me stay...'_

"What?"

'_Let's stay...'_

Kai shook his head in confusion.

'Stop it'

"You can't save everyone Hiwatari." Kai stumbled as Boris pushed him away. The pale-haired young man pivoted on one foot and caught the knife in mid-spin. Miriam growled as she scrambled to her knees and rolled sideways, a second knife held in her good as she sucked on her bleeding digits.

'_You did the right thing.'_

Then why was everything going so wrong?

-

-

"Yuriy!" Ivan shouted, momentarily forgetting their work protocol as he tackled his redhead leader and forced him down against the metal platform. A bey landed on the safety bars, leaving a dent on its surface before hopping down. Yuriy and Ivan immediately took their guns out, Ivan shooting backwards at the spinning top while Yuriy shot into the empty darkness upside down.

Ivan got off the redhead to examine the downed bey. A single bullet had gone through the center but it wasn't the body that he was interested in, it was the top gear. Yuriy flipped onto his stomach and reloaded his gun. The cartilages fell from the magazine and rolled off the platform.

"Ta..."

Yuriy rolled his eyes.

"I know."

Ivan pocketed the damaged bey.

"Anything interesting?" he asked casually miming a shot before reaching for the ladder above.

They heard the quick footsteps over the roar of the rain. Yuriy looked towards the clouded sky.

"Well... we know that they're not playing around."

"Neither are we."

-

-

The fighting beys scattered like fish in a pond when Miriam's second knife scored the ground before them. Gritting his teeth, Boris tossed his knife again but missed. The blunette quickly hurdled over the spinning beys, picked up Sharkrash and launched it in midair.

Sharkrash swallowed the knife and deflected it before snapping her jaws at Falborg. Miriam tore off her shirt sleeve and pressed it down on the stub of her fingers as Yuuya gave a chase, spitting out balls of water and electricity at the girl. As they passed by, Vortex Ape took a hold of the tapered tail with a strenuous heave and threw the cyber-organic bit beast into the crates.

Boris appeared in front of the green-eyed blunette and kicked her in the stomach. She stifled a gasp and stumbled backwards. He snorted when she fell backwards, her arms around the middle as she rolled onto her knees. She glared angrily when she saw the faint light reflecting off the object in his hands, the gun she had dropped earlier.

"Get away from her!"

Through the corner of his eyes, he saw Dunga barreling his way towards him. Boris pulled the trigger and watched impassively as the hazy silhouette floundered in the dust. He rubbed his face and saw that his fingers were pink and dripping. "Fuck I can't see a thing" Their fighting had stirred up all the accumulative dust and spread it through the air. In the fogged atmosphere, he could hear the light hum of grinding gears as Miriam and Kai shouted at their respective bit beasts.

Boris' eyes widened, where was the girl?

"Kai!"

-

-

"This is taking too long..."

The green-eyed leader of Saint Shields sighed as he stared at the bare steel beams around him. One hand, in his pocket, toyed with a violet bey. The other hand was placed against the rain-soaked bars as if trying to get a feel as to what was happening around him.

Footsteps came like muted gongs on the metal platforms. When nothing but slow breathing and the sound of rain greeted him, Ozuma slowly turned around.

"O... Ozuma..."

Ozuma stared in shock as the latest member they had incorporated for their little mission gave a sobbing whimper. The black-and-red haired leader held his launcher out, a furious look crossing his face as he took a step back. The boy's eyes rolled backwards as Wyborg gave an experimental squeeze with its ambidextrous tongue. The forked end stretched towards him almost playfully.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

A face emerged from the shadows, from behind the giant snake that currently had its red-stained tongue around the teen's torso.

"H... how..."

"How I found you? Or is that how Wyborg is going to eat the blubbering wonder here?"

-

-

The bulb shattered and left a hole in the ceiling. Rain poured through and along with it came the smell of the cold sea and the corrosive salt. The dust settled. The sparks licked at the various grates, unperturbed by the spray of salty rain. Kai cocked his gun back, an empty cartilage chiming against the dirty floor. Sharkrash tilted on its axis before whining to a stop, Cyber Dranzer soon followed suit. Under normal circumstances this would have signaled the end of their confrontation, perhaps they could have left, the Saint Shields would have thrown enigmatic words at them before departing. But this was far from ordinary, the opponents they were facing less than real.

Kai leveled his gun and aimed it at Miriam's forehead. The blunette froze, a strip of cloth twisted between her bloody fingers as she tightened the knots with her other hand and teeth. He made a slight keening noise and faltered, one knee bending but not quite touching the ground, his hand lowered his head bowing. Colleen stood behind him, trembling as she held a dagger with both hands; the blade deep within the back of Kai's ribs.

With a cry, she wrenched the blade up and bore his back open. The knife cut through the leathery material of his jacket and half way through the length blood speckled scarf before stopping. When met with resistance from the white cloth, she promptly dropped her knife as if she had been scalded and burned. He choked, blood spilling out of his lips as the wound frothed angrily on his back. The girl backed away, both hands on the side of her face as her impossibly large green eyes grew blank in horror.

"Run Colleen!!" Miriam shrieked.

The girl wasn't fast enough, she wasn't moving at all. So shocked at the audacity of her own act her body had forgotten how to move. She stayed glued to her spot as Kai stretched his arm back; the cold tip of the muzzle pressed against the right half of her forehead. He stared defiantly at the rest, daring them to stop him, goading them to make him drop his gun.

Colleen had begun to cry at the touch of the gun against her head. Droplets of salt rolled down her cheeks and hit the dust-riddled floor, much like the rain the storm had brought. The same rain washing over him as he smiled bitterly and bit down on his lips.

-

-

Joseph fell on his stomach, a foot holding him in place. Vanishing Moot, useless in his pockets, flared angrily at the close proximity of another bit beast.

"Ivanov," the boy sputtered out as he floundered under Yuriy's foot. The redhead craned his head in surprise and sneered, seemingly indifferent to the difficulties Joseph experienced breathing.

"Tell me what's going on? Or would you prefer to join your friends?"

"What?" this time it was Joseph's turn to be surprised as he realized just how the redhead snuck up on him without anyone noticing. The foot ground against his back painfully. He yelped and flailed but the red-haired Russian held his position. Yuriy slid a knife under the boy's throat. Though the rain had licked the metal clean, the green-eyed boy could still see the pink-tinged water run down its length. He cried out, "He's dangerous!"

Yuriy cocked his head almost thoughtfully and muttered,

"Tell me something I don't know."

"You know he's dangerous! He does not fit to hold Suzaku, no human does."

"So you've gone around trying to seal them. But you let them go once, why the sudden change of heart?"

"He'll corrupt her." Joseph replied insistently,

"But you're not going after any of the others..." Yuriy pondered as Joseph squirmed beneath him. "You wanted Suzaku and to draw Kai out you took Sergei... A piece of advice kid," Joseph gasped as the knife cut through the fragile fold of skin. "There are painless ways to die." And as the redhead prepared to slit his throat, Joseph pulled out a bey stuck onto a launcher.

"A piece of advice," the green-eyed boy wheezed out, "doesn't be so talkative!"

There was no way for Joseph to launch his bey in the position he was in with one hand caught beneath his stomach. So he improvised and held the launcher vertically pointed at the steel beam below them. Gravity did the rest as he held on to the ripcord and watched Vanishing Moot land safely. It wasn't by far the strongest launch he had ever made, the white bey wobbled, too unstable too do much but stay on the lower levels. But with a puff of frost from the white bit-beast, the rain became needle-sized lances.

Yuriy turned his head and winced as a piece of ice struck him in the eye. Joseph rolled onto his back and kicked one foot sideways. The redhead slipped as the green-eyed Saint Shield got up into a sitting position and head butted his stomach. With a surprised gasp, Yuriy stumbled and fell. Joseph turned around; trying to pinpoint his leader's location when fingers shot out snagged the corner of his red and orange collar.

Joseph again fell, this time on his side. He tasted blood in his mouth as he accidentally bit down on his tongue. He tried to get up, his body in agony as he tried to figure out if his ribs had broken or were simply bruised. The redhead was unrelenting as he held on. With his other arm, Yuriy held onto to the metal beam his face carrying a smug smile.

"Hey, forgot that cornered rats bite."

And stuck his knife into Joseph's hips whe the boy tried to roll out of the way. The green-eyed boy said no words as he drew a knife from his boots and ran it down Yuriy's arm. The edge sliced open the thin layer of skin and a small amount of blood squirted out, disappearing beneath his sleeves. The redhead let go of the shirt collar and slipped, his torso sliding off the slippery metal. Joseph cried out as the knife was wrenched out of his body with a sharp pull. Before Yuriy could reach for him again, he raised the knife over his back and quickly drove it into Yuriy's hand. The redhead howled as his hand was briefly pinned to the steel beam. Cursing the fast fading back of the green-eyed boy, Yuriy slung his other arm over the metal and quickly climbed back up. He extracted the knife out and dropped it over to the side, not giving it much thought as he went back into what bereft protection the unfinished building offered.

He stumbled halfway through, the reddish orange beams multiplying then dividing as he swayed on his feet. He shook his head and got on a platform as quickly as possible and examined his hand. He couldn't tell if anything had gone wrong externally in the poor lighting. He stood up, almost throwing up in the process as he tripped over a cold body. He squinted, trying to see if it was someone he knew. Right, he had killed whoever it was a while back, actually minutes, but still dead, no threat. His hand shot out reflexively and saved his face from becoming a permanent fixture on the metal surface.

"Shit what the hell was that?" Yuriy mumbled, his vision blurring with spots of black dancing across his eyes. He narrowed his eyes and dangled his punctured hand in front of his eyes. Poison, he thought, not too dangerous or otherwise he would have probably passed out by now. He leaned against the rough wall, gashing his teeth as he made a makeshift tourniquet around his wrist and hand. He didn't know how much of an effect it would have in slowing the poison down, but at the very least, it was comforting to have it on.

His cheeks were warm he could feel it even at a distance. He waved his hands, too dizzy to coordinate his body into doing anything else. A wave of soft energy pillowed him as Wolfborg bound his wrists in a layer of ice. He touched his cheeks then his neck; he saw that there were minute, bubble-like knots from fading scars. It was odd how he could barely make out his feet on the floor but still see the finer details of his skin.

_"Hey..." _He said hoarsely,

'Yuriy?!' Something loud, perhaps Ivan.

_"What are you doing here..."_

_

* * *

_

-

-

* * *

**A.C.:** Uhh this wasn't supposed to drag on this long... but it somehow did... -glares-

-

**Pikke Wood-** I just could –offers Sergei free vodka and painkillers- hah, English isn't my first language either and I know I'm getting worseeeeeee... so uhh it's probably not just you ;.; and everyone's being nice by not mentioning it

**Miako6-** sorry -.-;; will add names at the beginning from now on, I've never seen the English version so I don't really know how to use the Americanized names...

**Valenciadarkness-** heh thanks

**Ayatsuji-** 18 isn't all that it's cracked up to be x3

Driving? Country rules or something. Thou shalt try to obey the signal lights until your graduation from high school and admission in to a 'great' college, which by that time your parents would have bought you a Mercedes or something from sheer joy and you can finally 'practice' your driving by crashing it into the first tree you see. Nice country, no really.

Hehe... can't draw anymore these days -wiggles fingers- can't really write either but I had some stuff lying around –shifty eyes-

**GabZ-** thank you –tries to make a smiley face but fails-

Do you really spell 'smiley' with an 'e' really? 0.o


	13. Chapter 13: Burst

**A.C.:** My cactus lives-!!

**Disclaimer:** don't own it -.-

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

* * *

For reference in case you're confused...

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

* * *

-

-

* * *

"Yuriy!" Ivan appeared beside him, cell phone glued to his ear. The teen was wet, the end of his nose runny from the rain. "Where the hell were you?" Yuriy leaned back, his head hitting the bars with a dull clang as he did so. He frowned slightly, trying to clear the milky haze creeping over his vision. He had dropped his cell phone while tangling with a green-haired idiot suspended over the seventeenth floor. He thought about the slim phone breaking into a million pieces and laughed—to Ivan it sounded as though the redhead had finally lost it.

The blunette tilted Yuriy's face up and observed the fine trembling of skin. "What happened?"

The pupils were wide and flickered uncertainly as they focused on the Ivan face. The wind shifted and the rain came splattering down on Yuriy's face. Blinking to get the water out of his eyes, redhead parted his mouth and breathed, swallowing mouthfuls of rainwater in the process. It roused him enough to answer his short companion, or perhaps he just recognized the blunette's nose.

"...Obviously I've been had."

Ivan let his hand fall away from the older Russian's chin before he could inhale anymore of the water and drown.

"Fine country this is," Ivan muttered as he untied the makeshift tourniquet from Yuriy's wrist, "You're either kidnapped or poisoned... Tourniquets don't actually help you know." the strips of cloth unraveled and revealed a knife wound obscured by swollen skin. "You should have just let it bleed out."

Yuriy shrugged,

"Not used to these close-range combats," here Ivan muttered something that the redhead ignored, "would've just shot 'em but there were too many..."

Only half listening the blunette said,

"It's probably not fatal... to you"

"It feels fatal." Yuriy growled.

"Stop being a baby." Ivan took his switchblade and began to pick out the crusted blood with the flat side. When the cut seemed clear enough he dug in deeper creating thick grooves along the wrist. Blood appeared in rice-sized beads at first before connecting and forming a rivulet down the pale skin. Yuriy raised an eyebrow,

"You gonna suck that for me too?"

Ivan leered,

"I'm sure you wish it was Kai doing it but alas, it's not meant to be." Yuriy barked out a laugh but it was forced and faltering. Ivan paused in concern, "Come on fearless leader, we have a place to be and it's not here."

"Shorty?" Ivan almost dropped him, offended. Irritably Yuriy waved his hand. "Not you, the other one."

"Ozuma?"

Yuriy gave a sound of disgust,

"...What happened to him?"

"Got off before Wyborg could get him. His bit beast is pretty useless in the rain but he..." and the rest of Ivan's words faded into white noise as Yuriy closed his eyes, feeling the eyes that bore into his back. With a last burst of energy he looked back, seeing millions of green orbs that just stared at him. The emerald colors shimmered and winked. The redhead smirked and raised his middle finger in a mock salute.

-

-

Kai shivered in either shock or pain long after the echoes from the recoil in his hand had faded. He tilted his head up, fixing an odd look on Miriam. The dead girl's body laid in a fetal position behind him. He pushed her away with his foot as he stood up. The blunette Saint Shield looked as though she torn between the death of her teammate and Kai's incredible—inhumane—threshold for pain. In the shadows, Boris quickly made a beeline for a fire alarm installed into the wall behind him.

"New members? I'm surprised that you risked their lives by bringing them here. I'm flattered, really."

"You didn't think," Miriam answered scornfully, her face still red from the pain of her amputation. Her nose flared delicately as she flexed the stump of her digits. "That we would attempt the sealing all by ourselves did you? Saint Shields reach far and wide, there are many more of us, some even more powerful than Ozuma."

"You don't have your rock," Kai narrowed his eyes. "You never planned on sealing Suzaku... you..." Kai suddenly doubled over, coughing up mouthfuls of half-congealed blood. Seeing the momentary weakness, Dunga closed the distance with quick, limping strides and struck the teen across the temples. The blonde was surprised to find that despite having his face smashed down on the dusty floor, the teen was still awake.

"That's right smart ass, now hand it over"

"I can't." Kai's reply was muffled, almost like a sigh. The blonde eyed him suspiciously before patting him down. After searching every nook and cranny of his outfit and coming up with nothing, the green-eyed blonde flipped him over and made a tight fist around the blunette's collar. Kai sneered as Dunga bore his teeth and milky pale gums.

"Where is it?" he turned his head away politely as the blonde's breath washed over his face. After a few dizzying shakes the teen burst out in laugher, the harsh sound softened and eventually drowned out by the broken pillar of rain. Raising his hand, Kai popped loose the top row of buttons on his jacket strap. The zipper descended slowly and when it reached the top of his stomach, Kai reached inside and pulled on his shirt collar. The gray cotton stretched back to reveal the skin beneath.

"I'm afraid I can't just hand _her_ over..." Faces of Suzaku and Kuro Suzaku stared back at them, their necks entwined and their blue and green eyes glowing like bright gems on Kai's skin. Their beaks were poised just below his sternum, mane-like crests flared and touching. Suzaku stared at them boldly in claret lines, uncaring for the two survivors who had come to capture her. Her twin echoed her image in black strokes, the shape seemingly harder and crueler. "...not unless you're willing to carve her off my dead body."

-

-

"Is that him?"

"He seems similar to the description we were given..."

"He has red eyes..."

Hitoshi squinted into the rain. Three figures, mere children, looked down at him clothed in colors of red and gold. Their opaque green eyes glowed delightedly as they found him alone, unarmed. The man narrowed his eyes, his glare lost somewhere in the curtain of rain as the three Saint Shields surrounded him holding their launchers out. He breathed out in disbelief,

"I don't have time for this."

The three tops shot towards him, spinning across the slick concrete to slash at his ankles. He growled irritably and kicked the nearest one back to its owner. The bey bounded back, wobbling as it fought to regain its balance and rejoined its brethren as they circled the slate-haired man.

With almost a bored air about him, Hitoshi took out a launcher from inside his sweater. He nodded at the bey as it zigzagged in ripple-like motions across the shallow water.

"Metal Drigger, make sure they don't ever get up again."

Somewhere through the rain he heard the alarms go off.

-

-

Boris stared as if half-entranced.

"That can be arranged," Dunga said viciously, jerking Kai's head down on the concrete and sticking his knife against his throbbing throat. "This has gone far enough."

"...Yes," Boris cracked the plastic case above the fire alarm. "Think we've all had enough." The bell rang shrilly within the warehouse and the two Saint Shields started in panic. Kai planted his elbow in Dunga's gut and stood up, shooting a hole in Vortex Ape's center piece as he ran towards his teammate. Boris had already dragged Sergei's arm around his shoulders as Falborg hovered nearby. The man's skin was cool to touch, Kai blew on it experimentally but it retained its grey hue. They pushed him into a passenger seat of a pick up that had been parked conveniently beside the warehouse.

"Can you drive this thing?" Kai coughed, holding a hand to his mouth. Rain plastered his silver bangs down his face. He couldn't tell if he was coughing up blood or was tasting whatever had been in his mouth in the first place.

"What, you think I can't?" retorted Boris as collected Falborg and gingerly brushed away the broken glass littering the seats.

"You don't have a license."

"I don't need one."

"It's a pickup, how are you going to..."

In a fit of dejavu, Boris felt that he had a similar conversation sometime long ago. But that once upon a time, they had a relatively happy ending. This time it didn't seem as though they would get off that lucky.

"Keep his head on your lap."

He opened the door to the passenger side and pushed Sergei's still warm body in. Kai followed soon after, settling the blonde's broken head on his lap. After a brief pause, he untied the short, white scarf around his neck and wrapped it around the blonde's head like a bandana to hide the bloody wound.

"All set?"

Boris asked grimly as he finished hotwiring the car and revved up its engines. Not waiting for an answer he continued, "Here we go."

-

-

"Colleen?"

"Dead, Kai killed her."

And the silent shudders spread like ripples across the huddling bodies around them. He heard a small weeping noise nearby, not a new thing. Another would join the first cry within a few minutes, then another and another before it would settle down. Grief would pass as they all had passed. And so the team leader of the Saint Shields asked once more,

"Where's her body?"

Dunga said nothing and at a loss for words Ozuma expressed his frustration with a repressed sigh.

"They got most of us at the construction site, we retrieved the bodies before the rain stopped but I don't know how they knew we were there in the first place." Joseph quietly picked up, gingerly fingering the left side of his face with cool fingers.

"So we were tipped off, all of them were to be gathered on the docks and yet they somehow managed to slip through our fingers..."

Dunga flinched at the words 'fingers' and stole a quick look at the blunette girl. Miriam's mouth was set in a straight line and the fingers of her left hand had grown white while providing pressure on her right. Their medic had done an incredible job with the flesh wounds and bruises that they had sustained but he doubted they could do anything about missing finger... or missing limbs for that matter. He stretched out his leg and thought better of it as a bolt of pain shot through his knees. The medic had told him that he would lose his leg if he didn't keep it clean. It was also recommended that he seek a real doctor. The mobility of his leg was failing and he couldn't be sure that his adrenaline was finally wearing off to awaken the body of its true injuries.

"Didn't Kai say..." Miriam said slowly, trying to bring up the image of their battle, "that the area was owned by someone else?"

"Another gang? Impossible, we would have seen them." Joseph objected from the side.

"Maybe not, if this was indeed their territory they would have the advantage. If they wanted to, they wouldn't have been seen." Ozuma said quietly.

"There's also the matter of three that were supposed to be on the standby."

"Kinomiya Hitoshi," Miriam interrupted, the new recruits looked at her with the consistency of people lining up to be hanged. Ozuma cocked his head while Dunga looked disinterestedly at the wall.

"Kinomiya? Kinomiya Takao's brother perhaps?"

"I wasn't aware that Takao had a sibling..." Joseph mumbled, pressing an ice pack to the side of his face.

"Kai mentioned that this was his territory."

"Odd, you'd think the guy like that would have shown up once or twice..."

"Maybe he doesn't want us to know that he's there."

Ozuma looked deep in thought,

"Maybe."

-

-

"Ivan here."

"Hey shorty."

"Boris..." Ivan said flatly into the receiver.

" Phoenix here wants to talk to you."

"Che, how's it over there?"

"Bad Ivan, really bad."

"Really bad then," Ivan sighed rubbing his eyes. He stared at Yuriy and wondered if he could pass for a drunk. Perhaps then they could catch a bus or even a taxi back home.

"Ivan."

"Kai."

Yuriy mumbled and shifted in a fitful sleep.

"..."

"Dammit Kai..."

"..."

"Fuck, could you at least answer me!!"

"...Did you feel it?"

"What?"

"Did you feel it?"

"Yes..." Ivan covered his eyes and slumped against the fall. "Dammit, yeah I felt it." Ivan put his head between his knees, the phone pressed tightly against his ear. "I felt it..."

There was a slight rustling sound at the other hand. Kai might have moved his head towards the side a bit; perhaps it was Boris driving again.

"...sorry"

-

-

Rain dripped down from the ceiling. The dust was thick because the warehouse had been unused for a long time but Hitoshi could see in places where a patch of the original surface showed, as if someone had been there recently. Experimentally he touched the wooden crate and rubbed the fine dust between his fingers.

He slowly went around the room, circling it twice before ending up in the middle where the rain fell thickly from the hole above. His foot stepped on something hard and round. He lifted his foot and picked up the object. A cartilage, he pocketed it and set out to look for more. It wasn't too hard; the warehouse was empty of most things as it was an off season for whoever owned it. And where footprints had skidded across the floor Hitoshi could observe a number of things. Identical cartilages, bits of metal perhaps from a beyblade and blood, a broken dagger, twin to the one he now held in his hands.

Frustrated, he kicked it into the corner.

He was too late, again.

-

-

_"...Kai?" _

"Hmm?" Kai answered but didn't open his eyes. His head rolled slightly and turned his face towards the pale-haired Russian. He felt the heavy weight on his legs lifted away from him and he reached for it, hands catching nothing but air as Boris held the stiff body in his arms.

"Aren't you going to get up?"

His hand fell back to into his lap and he opened his eyes. Boris noted that they were slightly glassy, almost as if he had been... no... Impossible.

Slowly, Kai peeled himself away from the warm seat and got out.

There was blood on the seat. Blood pooling in the leather cushion as thick crusts made home in the creases and stitch marks. The coppery scent was enough to permeate the chilly air.

Boris dully noted all this and said,

"She got you deep."

"Yes she did."

"And you aren't healing... what the fuck did you do?"

Kai looked up at him looking furious.

"What I had to do."

* * *

-

-

* * *

**A.C.:** -dances- whoo! The final finals are over!! I am... still a senior at a highschool what a drag... again un-betaed but hey, it's an update riiiigggghht?

Bit short this time, a bit boring too in my opinion hmmm -.-;; _thankgodit__'sovernowIcangobacktowritingsmutorwhatever_

-

**YuriyTalaIvanov- **Well I can't kill them yet ;.; I kinda need them

**Gabz-** Hah well I like reviews 3 –crosses finger and hopes it can be finished by February-

**Miako6-** ehh... k yeah I get it, the name switch was confusing... and unnecessary.

**Ayatsuji-** mrrr -purrs- thank you for your kindly comment as always -PMed- and yesh sometimes I confuse myself writing because even I forget what I've written xq


	14. Chapter 14: I'm Alright

**A.C.:** I had to rewrite the whole thing all over again because I accidentally wrote a file over it when I was transferring stuff between computers. -Sobs- ahh well, 's not like I have anything else to do riiiggght? Bleh.

Whoo, a new update, must be a new record.

**Disclaimer:** wish I owned it...

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

* * *

For reference in case you're confused...

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

* * *

-

-

* * *

The anger disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. Kai let out a small sigh which became a cloud of moisture in the air. The rain had receded somewhat, but it was still drizzling and Boris could no longer read the other's face through the veil of water. And neither could Kai his. 

"Get rid of that thing."

Kai leaned against the pick-up's door. He brushed his bangs back but the silver bangs flowed back down, obscuring his eyes. The slate-haired Russian seemed to sag until he seemed to have compressed onto himself entirely. Boris' grip on Sergei grew tight and his nails dug into the unyielding cold flesh. He fought the urge to shudder and turned around. He wrapped his arm around the blonde's waist and threw the burly arm over his shoulders. Not that he couldn't carry the man but he doubted that people would react well to a skinny Russian holding up someone twice his size in bridal style.

"Why do you turn your back to me...?" there's no amusement, no noticeable anything, just resignation of what is to come. "You could easily..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Boris interrupted, tucking the larger man's corpse closer to his side. "Hate you too Hiwatari but unfortunately..." he grimaced as if he had bitten into something bitter. "...That is no longer my choice to make."

-

-

Yuriy released a muted moan of frustration and disbelief as he circled the blonde's body which had been healthy and living mere hours before. One hand went up to his hair and twisted the fingers around the claret strands, the other hung rigidly at his side useless. He let his right hand rest upon the dead man's closed eyes. It was at times like these that asserted Yuriy's status as a leader. The anger was palpable in his eyes, pain, drugs and drowsiness doing nothing to lessen the intensity of the arctic colors. He looked absolutely stunning, he looked positively murderous.

"What. Happened."

"Saint Shields," Kai answered, which was in Boris' opinion, a murder just waiting to happen. Yuriy moved very quickly for a man who was suffering from after effects of poisoning. And whatever painkillers that rushed through his veins to numb the nerves did nothing to slow him down as he tightened his hand around Kai's upper arm. Water droplets scattered all over the floor. The blunette winced at the rough handling though he did nothing to get out of the redhead's grip. Gritting his teeth, he continued "they took him as bait." Yuriy's nails furrowed in further,

"What did they want?" he intoned quietly, perhaps out of the respect of the half-Russian in his grip.

"Suzaku."

Yuriy's lips lifted lightly in an caustic sneer.

"And you let him die for that damned thing."

There was loud hissing noise from beside them which met an untimely end through Boris' hand. The pale-haired man was not looking at the pair directly; Ivan seemed to have bloated like a toad. Yuriy paid them no heed as he let go, Kai stumbling back as if he had been punched in the stomach. Shuffling his feet, the blunette tugged his torn jacket closed and wrapped his arms around his chest. It was an action so unlike Kai's that for a moment the redhead was sorely tempted to ask if he was alright.

He didn't and retracted his arm back at his side. He swayed on his feet as a sudden wave of vertigo washed over him. Kai pulled at the edge of his orange-and-white sweater long just enough for him to regain balance and back off onto the couch were Sergei was laid. He slapped his bandaged hand over his eyes and tilted his head backwards, not at all perturbed that he was nearly sitting on the dead blonde's legs.

Between asking for a glass of water and more painkillers, Yuriy spat out a word that more than aptly summarized the situation at hand.

"Fuck."

-

-

"...Where are you going?"

"What are you doing up this late Takao?" Hitoshi asked finally as he kicked his foot into his shoes. There was a loud yawning noise behind him as the blunette stretched his arms and rubbed the remnants of sleep from his eyes.

"...mmm...heard you... going out... where are you going?"

"I have some business to take care of."

"Like yesterday...?"

The deep blue eyes were becoming clearer. Hitoshi reminded himself to breathe. He didn't know anything; Takao was being a typical, nosy, brotherly self.

"It's not about that."

"You're hiding something." Suddenly agitated Takao continued, "...stop lying to me!"

"Takao..."

"I heard gramps say stuff about you when you went away! He said that you're dealing with a wrong crowd and that you'd get in trouble someday and...!" the younger Kinomiya immediately shoved his hands into his mouth. He swallowed Hitoshi turned around, his eyebrow raised high.

"He said that to you?"

A nod,

"About me." Hitoshi shook his head, "he doesn't know shit." Takao shook at the profanity coming from the normally taciturn man. "Takao," he warned, walking up to his brother and ruffling the navy locks. "Go back to sleep."

-

-

They moved Sergei into another room where his body would be prepared for cremation. The funeral would be private, just a handfuls of ashes into the wind and the ocean to be forgotten. He wouldn't even get a gravestone to say who he had been to all of them. And perhaps that tiny detail hurt the most.

Boris' chair bumped softly as all four legs make contact with the carpeted floor. Immediately he tilted it forwards, his arm hanging over its back as his head rested on the back of the chair. The chair reared before settling down with another dulled noise. And like clock work, his legs flexed repeating the motion over and over again.

"Leave him be Ivan." Boris tried but the blunette was relentless.

"So you're going to send a half-dead man..."

"Yeah," Yuriy responded disinterestedly as he nursed a bottle of vodka he seemingly produced from thin air.

"Without backup..."

"If he needs one, he'll get one."

"Just because he knows Saint Shields best..."

Yuriy sighed and swallowed another mouthful.

"That sounds about right..."

Ivan snarled,

"He got off the fight worse than you. There's no way he's going to come back in one piece and you know it. If you need someone to go, send me or Boris. Dammit Yuriy, you can't fuck Kai over just because you're angry."

"I'm not angry."

Boris rolled his eyes,

"'Course you're not, you're just bat-shit crazy."

"As I recall, it isn't my job to eliminate Hiwatari if he got to be a problem."

"Ooh... back to last names, got kicked out last night or something?" Boris jibed snidely but quickly sobered when he realized the implications of Yuriy's words. "Heh... how'd you know that?"

"Walls have ears," Yuriy reprimanded mildly, slamming the bottle down on the side table in front of him.

"So you're letting Saint Shields do the dirty work for you. That is so unlike you, what's the matter? Saving a few drops of blood won't keep your hands any cleaner."

"It's not about that..." The redhead had a dark look on his face as he paused, brooding. "If he comes back," he pronounced slowly, "he's free to stay."

"This is his house," Ivan interjected,

"You know what I mean"

"You're blaming him for Sergei."

"You weren't there Ivan,"

"What about Boris?" Ivan tried and elicited an offended 'hey,' from the platinum-haired man.

"Blames aside, it is true that he indirectly participated in Sergei's death. If he had handed her over we could have taken it back."

"If he had handed that _damned _thing over, he would have been dead!"

"What?"

"You sleep with him every night, you've seen it. Or were you so preoccupied that you didn't even notice what was going on under your nose? You heard quite a bit of our conversation, but you didn't hear the whole thing. Don't you get it, Kai. Died."

The redhead turned away from the volatile teenager.

"Ivan, _Kai_ does not need you to defend himself."

"Yuriy, if you haven't noticed, he's not healing anymore. We all had or bit beasts out and it speeds up our healing. Counting Cyber Dranzer or whatever crap he picked up, he has three. By all accounts he should be fucking immortal."

"Handling bit beasts puts a strain on..."

"You know that's not the whole story!" Ivan shoved his hand up his hair and tugged at it furiously. Slightly calmer he continued, "Ok look. What if I said that they were the same? What if Kai can't accept this part of himself because it would mean that he was something less..." Ivan's voice turned into a bare whisper. "... Something more than human?"

Boris looked up sharply, he had not been told of this part before.

"It doesn't change a thing," Yuriy's eyes had a faraway look to them as he stared into the wall. "It doesn't change a thing at all."

-

-

Kai heard, felt and knew every single word that passed through the walls and the floors. He shed the ruined jacket quickly and threw the over the chair beside his desk. Perhaps one of the maids could repair it later, more than likely it would be thrown out. Fumbling around his drawers, he took some bandages and wrapped them tightly across his chest as he could. He didn't know the extent of the damage, he had not taken the time to look in the mirror but knew that he should be getting some professional help because the taste of metal in his mouth had only strengthened over time.

He punched a wall and winced.

'_...stay?'_

He closed his eyes and shook his head as if to chase away a nightmare. A bead of sweat trickled past his jaw. He punched the wall again and rasped,

"Be my guest."

-

-

"Master Kai!" the girl let out a scandalized gasp as she came into the room, exchanging nervous glances with a manservant.

Kai stood with his back to them, his chest and left shoulder swathed in bandaging.

"Sir," the manservant spoke up hesitantly, "That is not a wound you can shake off easily, you should at least get it looked at by Kotone-san or even Sergei-san." Unbeknown to them, Kai's hand clenched tightly as he tugged a shirt over his head—they didn't know.

"Master Kai..." the girl tried again,

"I'm going out, don't tell the others."

"Too late," Kai jumped. Boris shoved his way between the two servants scratching the back of his head.

"Boris." The blunette said flatly. Boris opened his mouth and closed it again.

"You've got Ivan hopping mad at Yuriy." to this Kai nodded absentmindedly, waving the two servants off as Boris closed the door behind him. "Ok, they're pretty much laughable I'll give you that but in terms of numbers? They've got us there hahn? Kai, you are insane." Kai said nothing, "Ivan told me that he could no longer feel..."

"Still a Blitzkrieg," Kai interrupted with a mirthless glance, "As for Ivan... it was an unfortunate advantage that no longer matters"

"You're still insane."

"I'm giving them a warning."

"I'll just go and reserve a room for you in Tokyo General Hospital shall I?"

"Hn, I can afford to clean up this mess one last time."

"Don't make _him_ too comfortable." Boris muttered darkly. It was the one time the platinum-haired man had shown any outward reaction to the death of his blonde partner. Kai pulled on his jacket and uttered the only reassurance he could afford to give,

"I won't"

"Just come back in one piece bird brain."

Kai smiled.

-

-

"Kane Yamashita."

"Yamashita Kane," the blunette corrected automatically. The girl cocked her head and leaned forward. He wasn't sure how he knew this person was female; from the cloak draping her from head to toe he could barely make out her green eyes. But there was something about her, her cat-like movements to the lilt of her words that reminded him so badly of another girl laying in a coma in the room above them.

He cleared his throat, "what do you want?"

"I... or rather my leader has a proposition for you."

Kane was already walking away, wanting to be alone to mull over the day again lost to fretful waiting. The girl glided up to him. She was taller than him, perhaps by a few inches. That alone irritated him and made him walk a little faster. Unfortunately for him, she had no trouble keeping up.

"Leave me alone."

"How rude."

"Get away from me."

"Don't you want revenge for your teammates?"

"Already tried ...doesn't matter."

"And if I said it does matter?"

She blocked the oncoming fist easily with her left hand.

"I've already tried. What more do you want from me? They were already strong back then, I am nothing compared to them."

He had been right, she was a girl. The hood of her cloak slipped down past her dark hair and pooled against her shoulders.

"If I said I could help..."

"You can't help me."

"The powers of a bit beast are miraculous, you should know." The blocking hand became a finger that guided the fist sideways. "It's true that Cyber Dragoon is a disappointment next to the original but, I believe it makes him more dangerous."

"I told you, I. Failed."

"And I told you, you have another chance." He saw her smirking and felt another surge of irrational fury filter through him. "Are you interested?"

-

-

Kai let out a low hiss.

"I can still smell the blood on you." Yuriy sighed as he lightly nipped the fabric on Kai's shoulders. The half-Russian looked strange without the usual white scarf around his neck. Yuriy backed away and inspected him in the yellow light.

"This seems to be a popular trend today" Kai mused, "you should be resting." The redhead stared at him and quirked his eyebrows, the slate-haired teen sighed. "It's ok, make it up to me later." Yuriy didn't say anything but then he didn't have to.

Kai held a gloved palm to the redhead's mouth, his lips pressed against the back of his hand. Kai lipped the top of his middle finger before biting down. Yuriy bit back viciously at the underside, his nose squashed against the fourth finger and the pinky as he designated to leave his mark on the young man before he left. Kai squeezed his eyes shut and squinted, staring enthralled into the iridescent aqua blue. He whispered a quiet 'I'll come back,' and gently flicked this tongue against the leather.

Drowsy, Yuriy closed his eyes then opened it.

Kai was gone

And so was the pain.

* * *

-

-

* * *

**A.C.:** I like Miriam a lot for some reason (even if I did kinda sorta turned her into a murderess). Guess she was easier on the eyes than most. Mariah's way too pink for me -laughs- eh, wrote and rewrote the last scene a couple of times but... it still doesn't look right...! 

And... Damn this story is turning out to be longer than I thought

-

**Ayatsuji-** well me... I haven't taken a single, decent, grade-correct, non-asian, high school (or middle school) level English in a looooong time... err since I graduated middle school for the first time... -counts fingers then fails- Can only imagine what I sound like to the rest of the world hmm...

And thanks D glad that you liked it.

**Ma.anda**- -looks up looks down looks sideways and down- I can't tell if I explained things or not, hope it helps... x3

**YuriyTalaIvanov**- obviously I can't tell you anything, thanks for reviewing )

**Miako6**- uhh you're going to have to be more specific than that. Umm about Ivan, he has an almost nonexistant connection with Kuro Suzaku that makes him sensitive towards Kai for some reason or another.


	15. Chapter 15: Difficulties

**A.C.:** Might be closer to the end than I thought originally -shrugs- enjoy

**Disclaimer:** wish I owned it...

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

* * *

For reference in case you're confused...

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

* * *

-

-

* * *

"When the hell were you going to tell us anyways?" Boris asked irritably as he tugged his gloves on over his fingers. The other shrugged, his hands flying over the keyboard of his dead laptop. The pale-haired closed his closet in disgust and shoved his knives down his hiking boots. 

"Never, didn't seem like it mattered." Ivan replied, closing his laptop and ducking his head in time to dodge a pencil aimed at his eye. The deadly projectile stuck itself into the wall, burrowing in for an additional inch before stopping. The blunette leaned back and whistled, "Real mature Boris." With a squeak he rolled over onto the floor as three pens in succession bounced off of the chair he had been sitting on. The only saving grace was that the pens were capped. It didn't stop them from making a visible dent. Ivan waited for a third round before looking up.

Boris had a pencil in his hand, the top half broken and dangling from a sliver of painted wood. The pale-haired man leaned into the window frame, his head butting the glass lightly as his short hair scattered the thin cover of moisture.

"What are we doing..."

-

-

"Thought you knew," the man said carelessly as he peered at his face from under his hat. The man was testing him--that much Hitoshi knew and grimaced inwardly. "Figured you wouldn't mind." The slate-haired man gave the other a mild glare through the rose-tinted glass.

"You thought I wouldn't mind?"

"Not like we can do anything. We've seen 'em at the docks. We ain't getting near 'em without getting some kind of a reward."

"I can make some arrangements, if you can gather the gang; I'll meet you at the closed car center by noon."

"Don't bother."

Hitoshi didn't bother looking up. He knew the brilliant presence of the phoenix better that he knew his own name.

"Kai."

The man tipped his hat in an obviously respectful gesture.

"I'm not going to blame you for what happened; we were being careless after all..." Kai had a faraway look in his eyes as he jumped down, a jacket clinging unusually tight to his lithe form.

"...but?"

But he already knew the answer. He's known it ever since Kai let his blood-red eyes slip over his form. Kai curled his upper lip in an antagonizing smirk.

"...Won't even charge you, but I want to do it _alone_."

-

-

Ivan didn't even bother to struggle as he was hauled up by his shirt collar. Boris stepped sideways so they wouldn't get caught in the crowd and twisted the cotton material around his fist until the shorter Russian's face began to turn purple from asphyxiation.

"Oh fuck me," Boris swore in disbelief as he finally let go and dropped the blunette flat on his back. "Please tell me you didn't..." when Ivan didn't do anything except to get up and dust himself, Boris grabbed his collar again and whispered furiously, "Ivan! He'll blame me!!"

"I know," Ivan said with a straight face, trying to peel Boris' finger off his person. "I'll take all the responsibility..."

"Really?"

"No."

"Terrific." Then he asked hopefully, "do we have enough time to skip countries?"

Ivan grinned as they slowly began to make their way down the street. It was a smile of desperation knowing that they were utterly doomed.

"Of course not."

-

-

Kai was almost tempted to walk away. Cyber Dranzer was doing very well for its test run with a new gear. But then if he left, he could be sure that the other teen would be running around screaming for his blood with not one but two bit beasts on his tail. And he was getting fond of _Yuuya_ in a way, like how a certain brunette had first made an impact on his rather mediocre life.

As if to demonstrate, Cyber Dranzer tackled the opposing blade. Kane grunted as he set one foot back, the pale morning shadow contorting beneath him as he struggled to maintain his position.

"Will it bring them back?" Kai started conversationally as Cyber Dragoon lost ground, the metallic bit beast above roaring its frustration at its avian counterpart.

"What?" Kane asked distracted. Cyber Dragoon managed to snag Yuuya's wing. A long feather came off and disintegrated in the dragon's jaws. Cyber Dranzer continued its run unaffected.

"Or will the Saint Shields bring them back?" At his silence Kai snorted. "You're welcome to try it but killing me won't accomplish anything, I can guarantee that."

"Who said anything about killing you?" Cyber Dragoon struck Cyber Dranzer on its side. The blue-and-gray bey bounced back and caught the other on rebound before spinning in a dizzying circle to elude the gray's grasp. "I just need to... defeat you!" The cyber-organic dragon's eyes glowed as it shook off Yuuya from his back. It struck its right arm out, all five sickles now aiming for Kai's throat. Cyber Dranzer fell from the sky and landed on top of Cyber Dragoon jack hammering at the shining bit. The image of the dragon faltered and faded. Yuuya did the same, rolling off of the gray-top.

Kai looked from the two beys to the anxious blunette and back. A scornful silence in which Kai made his sentiments known,

"You're not even here to kill me... They did it for your friend and you, it was stupid but admirable. I doubt that they purposely left you out of their crazy plan just so you could end up participating in another way." Kai walked over to the other blunette and Kane, stunned at the movement of the older blader, stood dumbly as he was shoved to the side. "Did they ask you? Did they ask you to become a murderer? Funny, I lost a friend yesterday. I don't remember him telling me to avenge him."

"...I... They never said anything about..." Kane gasped, rubbing the spot where Kai had touched him furiously while slowly backing away.

"I thought you wanted to 'defeat' me."

"I..."

"Pick up Cyber Dragoon and try again Kane."

"You seem well Miriam." Kai's eyes lingered down her sitting form on top of a guard rail before resting on her gloved right hand. The blunette ignored this and prompted the gray-eyed teen to go on.

"...Or I will."

-

-

Boris noticed the wind first as they closed in on the construction site. The heavy machinery was groaning and here and there he could see yellow-orange helmets chattering and bobbing their way alongside a steel beam. But the wind was strong and rode over the background noise as it fused cold into his bones. He reached out and stopped Ivan from taking another step just as a man appeared before them, dispelling the strange air.

"You..." Boris snarled. The man looked down on him,

"Metal Drigger" he spoke quietly, "Cyber Drigger, Cyber Draciel." The three bit beasts appeared like ghosts from the mist. Their large frame and strangeness attracted the attentions of the construction workers. One of them waved his brightly colored helmet back and forth in an attempt to drive them out. The rest watched in wide-eyed silence as the bit beasts took a threatening step forwards. Boris took a step back, an almost maniac grin on his face as a bead of perspiration slipped down his face.

He had seen what Ivan had gathered upon Psykicks on short notice after they attacked Kai. And he knew, Hitoshi had no business handling one never mind two cyber bit beasts.

"Falborg" he called gently, feeling her bit hum against his chest. He had no time to place her back on a beyblade even if he had one handy. Sky-colored wings sprouted from his back and framed his side almost as if he were an angel. The raptor raised her head and screeched.

"Wyborg, Seaborg!"

A fish-like creature ballooned in front of him, gleaming gold atop of a pale-yellow bey. A sleek snake coiled itself before rearing up, giant fangs pearly with unused venom.

"Ivan?!"

"Thought I'd even up the odds. Geeze Boris, don't act so surprised."

"But Seaborg..."

"Is ours, just like Kai," Ivan said grimly as his eyes became shuttered. "You left a long time ago Hitoshi... Jin... he doesn't need you anymore."

-

-

Takao went up to Kai's mansion in what seemed like years and rattled the gates. As soon as his yells became noticeable all around the five mile radius, an irate looking manservant demanded to know what in daylights he had been drinking to make a racket like that. Impetuously, Takao slipped past the tall man's arms and ran towards the front doors. Just as the gangly-legged butler caught the back of his hooded sweater Yuriy slammed the door open, dressed in just jeans and the white-and-orange sweater he had been wearing the day before. Takao barreled headlong into the door and fell onto his back. Yuriy glared scornfully as the servant apologized profusely as the maids looked out in various degree of curiosity.

Takao promptly sat up and from his stomach came a monstrous growl.

"Ididn'teatlunch," he mumbled sheepishly,

"It's 10 am... on a Sunday morning."

"I didn't eat brunch?"

"What the hell are you doing here Kinomiya? Thought we got rid of you." Yuriy's smirk took a snide hint, "thought your brother warned you off."

Takao bristled,

"I want to see Kai."

"Why."

"What do you mean why? He's my friend!" Yuriy rolled his eyes

"Not this again."

"Where's Kai anyways?"

"Away."

"Where are you going?"

Yuriy scowled,

"Away"

"I'm coming with you."

Yuriy stared at the navy-haired teen contemplatively. Takao was just loud enough and useful enough with his bit beast to be a good distraction. At any rate, if it came to worst, he figured he could lose the dragoon-blader while running. Depending on his performance, Yuriy might even have to compare notes with Kai on directing a bunch of unruly and treacherous teammates that refused to listen to reason. He would have added backstabbing as well but somehow he didn't think the younger Kinomiya, with all his spouting about justice and friendship, could even think of such a thing. Yuriy shrugged and said,

"Just try and keep up."

-

-

Kai ducked his head under his arms and rolled, laughter of savage joy tearing out of his throat as he stretched his leg and stopped. Cyber Dragoon roared, deafening the ears of those who were listening. Kane lay curled on his knees, his hands clamped over his ears. Miriam waved her hand and the gray bey snaked after the slate-haired teen, Yuuya met it halfway, striking at the dragon's after image with his talons. Kai ran up the side of a support beam before throwing himself back, clearing the tangle of metal limbs before running after the green-eyed blunette.

Miriam sneered just as Kai caught up with her and launched Sharkrash in his face. Kai jerked his head back, red upon blue as a shark-fin triangle was cut open. And as he was hurled over the girl, she kicked out and caught him in the stomach. He reached out and pulled her down the broken concrete by her hair. She cursed and scratched and bit as they landed in a tangle of limbs at the bottom of a ditch.

They were surrounded, faces of Cyber Dragoon and Sharkrash peering over the half-buried pipes. Sharkrash wouldn't hurt Miriam and most likely Cyber Dragoon wouldn't either.

"Che."

Miriam threw herself to the side, crouching into a small ball. Yuuya buried his talons into the side of Cyber Dragoon's skull. A burst of flame and Flash Leopard stood over the fallen bit beast's form, Cyber Dranzer crashing into an exposed part of a pipe. The Saint Shields were finally here.

"It's five against one Hiwatari," said Ozuma as his eyes flickered over to Yuuya's whining bey. "Give it up." The green-eyed teen flinched as Kai took a gun and aimed it at his forehead. The rest of the Saint Shields shifted nervously; Miriam in particular hissed as she took a dagger out and wrapped an arm around his neck from the back. She immediately backed away from him, her hands rubbing the spot where they had touched skin to skin. Kai tilted his head, a strange knowing-laughing look in his eyes as he said,

"No."

* * *

-

-

* * *

**A.C.: **...And Takao makes a reappearance hm, wonder how long it takes for Yuriy to lose him x3 

-

**Ma.anda-** Glad it helped. Yeeaah... I'll probably miss Sergei too... even though I never wrote him much -feels slightly guilty-

**Ayatsuji-** I find that I have lots of time to write in between hiding from the lunch ladies. Turns out that I never paid for the dinner fees in October. Sad thing is that I never had dinner in school in October so... kinda on the phase of trading insults back and forth -makes a screwy face- they're very, very, very, very persistant. Plus I wasn't on most of this-last week, -scowls- internet died, mmhmm think I told you about that already

Yuriy is an idiot -muses- wonder how much more of an idiot he can be

And yesss... you've said it before but your compliments never fail to make me happy -head swells- xD do continue, really

**Miako6-** hmm no smut here either, thanks for the review x3


	16. Chapter 16: Alone

**A.C.:** First update of the new years, Happy New Years-!(haha whatever's left of it anyways) and welcome back year of the rat. The newspaper horoscope says that it's not the nicest year for snakes, also says that snakes should avoid wearing white and ivory hmm... that shouldn't be too hard. Ah well oh with the fick.

**Disclaimer:** common sense says that I don't exactly have ownership over beyblade. Screw common sense (gets shot)

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

* * *

For reference in case you're confused...

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

* * *

-

-

* * *

The phone rang once, twice before stopping. Kinomiya Ryuunosuke twitched in his sleep, his hand almost rising to the phone on the coffee table before retracting to rest upon his lax belly. He opened his eyes and looked around blearily muttering about his ungrateful grandson. The phone did not ring again, the Kinomiya patriarch slept on. 

-

-

_There is fire here but he is blinded this time, blind but seeing as he takes in everything else in a different way. His skin is new; he feels the tingle of the flames lance across his nerves. His lips are young, they taste the dry air and the lazy burn of something fiery and cruel grazes his tongue. His hearing untried, he listens to the deafening cackle of the flames and drowns it all out--he'll need all his wits about him this time. _

_He stumbles; his hand reaches out through the bars and into the recurring darkness and unknown. He is burned and he accepts it. He has never minded it before--this he already knows. _

_In the darkness, there can be many faces, of someone he knows and of someone he doesn't. But in the darkness, it would not have mattered anyways because he could not see. A lifetime spent in the cage, now blinded, finally tamed, he can't-can see. And before it has a chance to change, to warp into someone else and something new he grabs it and stops it in the only way he knows how. _

_He thinks... _

_...This is love _

_This is fate _

-

-

_"Ivan...?" _

The blunette bit his tongue as he fell to his knees, hand scrabbling to get a hold of something before he rolled off the hill. The uneven gravel dug into his kneecaps and palms as he slipped, barely conscious as the world split in two, three... it was kind of amusing watching multiples of Cyber Drigger collapse as Seaborg smothered it in its cavernous mouth.

Mouths, Ivan decided, and spat out a bloody phlegm. His tongue was bleeding and his head was pounding like hell when his stomach decided that it had had enough and emptied itself inside out. Embarrassed at the lack of control, the blunette had just enough strength to push himself onto the side as to not land in the puddle of puke.

From then on, he watched bonelessly as Boris finally caught the elusive Kinomiya.

-

-

"I remember you," Boris hissed against Hitoshi's face as they struggled along the gravel hills. The older man's expression was unreadable beneath the ruby glass, lips set in a firm line as he grabbed the paler man's wrists. The platinum-haired Russian twisted his fists into the stiff collar, grinning cheerfully when the other man gasped out loud, mouth falling slightly slack when the younger slammed him against a support beam. "You were there when it all began." Cyber Draciel's giant form fell into the steel frame, spraying the two with gravel and bending the metal structure as if finally went down. There were furious shouts from the construction workers as few braved the fighting bit beasts and began to climb up.

Boris saw the man's right leg tensing and blocked it with his knee. Hitoshi's left hand shot forward and pressed a stun gun to his neck. He didn't even have time to scream as he went down, body automatically curling into a fetal position as his hand twitched sporadically over his neck.

"Yes, I was." Hitoshi managed to answer before having Falborg dive bomb him from above. With a snarl, Metal Drigger pounced on the avian bit beast and tore her away from his master. Hitoshi quickly jumped towards where the construction workers were and broke out into a run. He managed two strides before colliding with the infamous leader of Neo Borg.

-

-

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Kai turned towards Miriam, his hand and gun still pointed at Ozuma's face. His lips quirked slightly, "The empty bit offers some protection from me but for how long?"

"We killed your teammates, so you'll kill one of us to get even...?" Ozuma inquired as Miriam backed away from the slate-haired teen, something tragically akin to fear entering her green eyes. She was still fingering where she had touched him. Her pendant was glowing then dying, it was sputtering at best completely useless at worst. Kai seemed to sense this and turned his head slightly. The bit-replica shattered and slid off her chest.

"Miriam!"

-

-

Hitoshi bent backwards onto his hands to dodge the resulting kick from the redhead. Yuriy bowed his knee slightly to the left before lashing out with his right fist, catching the older man in the face. Hitoshi staggered backwards holding his nose, he looked around--he was surrounded. He shrugged and let his hands drop back down to his side. He didn't have to wait long before a blow to his jaw let him know that one, Boris had recovered fully from the shock, two, he wasn't happy about it.

Hitoshi's sunglasses went skittering across the ground.

Ivan picked it up and perched it on his face before beaming at Boris. In turn, the older Russian swiped it off of the blunette's face and tossed it so that it landed on Hitoshi's chest.

"Huh, long time no see Kinomiya."

"Yuriy," Hitoshi nodded wryly as he picked himself off the ground. Boris bristled, and the man politely turned away from him, taking care to pick up his shades and put it back on his face. "Boris, Ivan."

"Cut the crap," Boris interjected brusquely, "What are you doing here?"

"The same reason... the same reason why we're all here." Hitoshi's expression was strained; Ivan looked as though he was having some breathing problems. Yuriy grimaced as another migraine hit him with the force of an eighteen wheeler. With the flurry of wind the slate-haired man disappeared. Boris bit off a quick "show off" and helped Ivan back to his feet. He looked expectantly at Yuriy who was rubbing the butt of his hand against his temple.

"Where's Kai?"

Boris gave the redhead a wan grin,

"Straight to the point fearless leader? He's around... somewhere..."

Ivan jabbed Boris' side with an elbow. "We don't know, we got sidetracked."

"...Who's we?"

"Me and the Shorty then."

Sensing a fight brewing Yuriy interrupted,

"Never mind, let's just find him."

The construction workers were getting close now that the initial fight was over. Yuriy nodded and started towards the unfinished buildings. Boris and Ivan followed immediately as two men began to wave their yellow helmets as to ward them off. The pale-haired Russian managed to flip them the bird before being tugged inside a crude elevator.

"Why are you here anyways?" Boris let Falborg loose, hopeful the bit beast would have a better time locating their quarry than they. With a flap of her feathered wings, the falcon was off and Boris looked wistfully after her as she melted into the sky.

"Weren't you the one worried about back up?"

"Eh? Oh right, great, Hiwatari gets two downed and one drunken Russian as back up. I'm sure he'll be _thrilled_."

"He'll have to live with it." And Yuriy added venomously, "And I'm not drunk."

"Sure you aren't."

"We need to find him quickly."

Boris rolled his eyes,

"Eager to get in his graces much?"

"It's not that," Yuriy ignored the snide look from a queasy looking Ivan, "I wouldn't have let him go if I didn't think he could do it." They finally stopped on an unmarked floor, the floor panel rattling as they got off. Glaring at any stray laborers still in the building, they waited for Falborg to come back. They waited for Yuriy's answer. "I was... worried, Kai doesn't have Suzaku with him."

"And how do you know that?"

The redhead sighed and held a red and gold bit up, leaning against a support beam.

"Because I do."

-

-

He had no idea where he was or what he was doing at this moment. He had been... fighting the Saint Shields. There was fire, screaming, and blood--there was lots of that--some his own, some not. Now it's as if the events of the past few hours have rewound and disappeared inside some hidden corner in his head. Kai leaned against the bench, looking like a tired pedestrian who had just sat down to rest their feet.

He hurt and bled beneath the long-sleeved shirt. The too-thin shirt had been shredded, every now and then the wind lifting up the flaps to reveal a sliver of white skin--he looked like a punk. His jacket had been discarded somewhere down the line of here and there, he frowned--he had liked that jacket. He unclenched his fist and felt something drop to his ankles.

It was the jacket, about as bloodied and torn as he felt inside. It was a wonder people hadn't called the police on him. He quickly rolled it up and buried his face into it, breathing into the cloth in short bursts. His head spun at the sudden movement and he took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to preserve heat.

Then he realized that there were no wounds on his body, the bleeding slits had become stretch of knotted white flesh across his skin. The scrapes had clotted, the dark scabs flaking off beneath the pads of his fingers. He no longer felt winded and could touch his abdominal area without feeling pain. But the dizziness failed to leave him and settled around his shoulders like metal shackles. His vision focused before blurring, the images seem to jump at him repeatedly before falling back.

_"Kai?" _

-

-

He came to lying on his back, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling--he had every bump and wrinkle of the ceiling mapped in his head after all. He struggled to get up and found a heavy hand holding him down.

"Calm down." He settled against the bed, hands clawing at the mattress through the cotton sheets. "Kuro Suzaku can heal you, but it couldn't replenish your blood. That's why you're feeling dizzy right now. Here," Hitoshi handed him a bar of chocolate, "it'll help." Kai turned it over in his hand,

"72 percent?"

"You never liked milk chocolate... not even then..."

Feeling stifled, Kai dropped the chocolate on his knees and pushed open the windows letting the cold, wintry air rush inside. He let out a breath he hadn't been holding, a swirl of white against the invisible wind. Hitoshi left wordlessly, gently inquiring if he needed anything and taking his silence as another form of 'no'.

Hitoshi had put his cell phone on the bedside table when he left. The phone buzzed, the vibration echoing through the wood to create a louder rumbling noise. The small screen on the front displayed an unknown number as the phone skirred across the wooden surface. On the sixth ring, it had placed itself at an angle where Kai could read the bolded black-lettered numbers. He froze, his breath caught in his throat as he read the numbers. It was not a local call, certainly not another cell phone, there were too many numbers for that...

He hurriedly picked it up and pressed it against his ear. An amused chuckle came from the other end, putting a chagrined expression on the teen's face.

" Brooklyn."

"Hello Kai, I hope I haven't woken you up..."

-

-

Takao had lost Yuriy somewhere along the line of trees, trying to figure out which way led where as the redhead ran past the skeletal branches. His breath coming out in angry puffs, he stuffed his fists down his pockets and tried to conserve heat as he jogged his way home. Along the way he had eaten a steamed bun before thinking of Daichi and buying four in a paper bag. Two of those four were already settling in his stomach, the third halfway there. The white paper bag clenched tightly in one hand, he finished chewing and swallowed, his frustration abating at the humble offering of food.

An unfamiliar face waved and he raised his hand in greetings in reflex. He shook his head as the stranger disappeared around the corner and went into his house.

Inside, Kinomiya Ryuunosuke was snoring, still dead to the world. Takao noticed that his brother was home, or at least his sneakers were and left the bag of steaming bun--singular--on the coffee table next to the phone.

He washed his hands over the sink, humming a little tune to himself as he wiped the moisture off with a towel. By chance while stalking over towards the TV to see what was on, he heard soft murmurs coming down from the floor upstairs. Curious--because his brother had never brought friends home before--Takao climbed up the stairs intent on finding who their guest was.

If he was hoping to see Hitoshi talking to someone--perhaps a girlfriend--he was sorely disappointed. Instead, the voice grew louder as he neared its origin but remained indecipherable, anonymous and genderless to his ears. Holding his breath, he put his cheek up against the wall and peeked inside the gap between the swayed wood.

He stuffed a fist in his mouth and rubbed his eye to make sure. Cautiously, with his heart sounding more and more like a death toll in his head, he approached the door as if it was an angry deity and aligned his eye against the opening between the door and its frame.

He hadn't been mistaken.

It was Kai, sitting on Hitoshi's bed with his knees tucked under his chin, a thin cell phone close to his ears. He seemed to be struggling, stumbling through the words as he listened to the person on the other end. Takao felt betrayed, by both his brother and his friend. Anger enveloped him hotly--why else would have Hitoshi warned Takao off without stating a good reason? He pushed the door open.

-

-

"Our bit beasts can't hurt human beings, which is why we had Kane brought in."

"From what I've seen so far, Hiwatari is not _human_." Miriam spat, running her hands up and down her arm as if to generate heat. She looked furious, her cheeks flowing with some inert flame as she bore her teeth at the blonde when he leaned forward to touch her. Dunga immediately retracted his hand. A few of their numbers, staring at their leaders, giggled at this.

"What constitutes a human being?" Ozuma asked no one in particular. "We were wrong last time; could we be wrong this time as well?"

-

-

Kai's eyes widened as the door swung open violently, Takao standing behind it with an expression of pure hatred on his young face. On the phone Brooklyn was laughing lightly, the sound tickling not unpleasantly against his left ear.

"That must be Takao, I haven't seen him in a while but I can tell... he hasn't changed a bit." Kai's hand shook slightly, the phone sliding down his palm as he fought the urge to crawl back as far as possible on the bed. Meanwhile Brooklyn continued to speak in a jesting tone but dual-haired teen could envision his green eyes, hard like emerald, as he heard the next words. "Why don't you tell him the truth? Tell him... oh why you must never tempt him, why he must keep away." With a laugh he added, "Tell him that I grow weary of his antics, after all... there are only so many people in the world I can tolerate touching you."

* * *

-

-

* * *

**A.C.:** -Grins broadly- Brooklyn returns but for how long I wonder... Run Kai run xD 

-gets a headache- mmkay... I have absolutely no idea if what I wrote makes any sense at all. I'll probably come back later to cringe over all the mistakes I've made hah.

-

**Miako6**- favorite quote, not sure if it was ever aired like this in English but--"_Tops are our friends!_" yeah I get the same feeling

**YuriyTalaIvanov**- err go ahead and ask anything you'd like to know. I think this section is here for that reason ;.;

**Ayatsuji**- ahh first things first

-Head asplode- -Gets another head- -Asplodes again-

x33333

Well I can always bring Sergei back as a semi-cyborg... like whatever they did to Yuriy in the first season (never watched that episode hmm) but no. No dragon balls, no stray blue fairies, -sniffs- I can't believe I killed him... well maybe later.

RIP big guy, try not to scare me too much in my dreams.

-Runs off the pick on Yuriy-


	17. Chapter 17: Yesterday

**A.C.:** two things, A) midnight snacks are awesome. B) Green tea works better than coffee, for me anyways. Safer two because it doesn't entail me feeling my head's been run over. Twice.

Yeah that's it

It snowed!

... And yeah, I won't play dead in the middle of the trail geeze.

Go on, I only wrestled with this chapter for a few weeks-!

**Disclaimer:** uhh no

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

* * *

For reference in case you're confused...

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

* * *

-

-

* * *

He woke up with grit and god-knows-what-else stuck in between his jaws. The Saint Shields had fled--tails between their legs--and left him there in the cold, gravel pit with only the crippled remains of Cyber Dragoon to keep him company. There were hands pressing down on him and he kicked, only to find wary eyes of few and brave construction workers staring down at him.

Tears come to his eyes slowly and bile rose up his throat. He rolled to his side and retched, finding nothing but saliva and a filmy white liquid stretching from his throat as he dug his nails into his palms.

Kai was right, it hadn't changed a thing.

He let out a frustrated sob and stumbled to his feet. His eyes grazed over the upturned ground and still burning earth. He thought he might have seen a shadow or two flickering at the corners of his vision. Red on orange-yellow as they called to him beckoned him--they still _needed_ him.

He swallowed the air and crushed his bit beast beneath his heels.

-

-

Takao opened and closed his mouth several times but failed to form a coherent word. The most he got out was a strangled _'why...?'_ before he stopped, unable to continue. In the meantime, Brooklyn chatted amiably on the other end and mentioned in passing that a storm was heading his way in the nearest future. Kai wasn't sure if he was being figurative or literal--and it looked like he was about to find out. In the background he heard small clinks of two objects colliding with each other, perhaps ice against the glass. He could imagine the cat-eyed blader hidden away in a tropical island somewhere reading out the events yet unfulfilled. Kai shivered as a particularly stiff breeze entered through the window and swirled around the room. Takao had yet to move from his spot in the doorway.

Then with a cheerful _'bye'_ Brooklyn disconnected before Kai could protest and a dull dial tone replaced where his voice had been moments ago, deafening his ears. He calmly folded the phone and placed it back on the bedside table. He placed his feet on the cold floor despite the aching protests of his head as he took a moment to regain his equilibrium. The 72 percent cacao chocolate bar Hiroshi had given him fell out of his lap and landed on the floor. Kai met the blunette's unsettling gaze evenly, privately wondering where the hell his clothes were--not that he would be wearing them anytime in the future--and when Hiroshi had the time to remove the torn clothing and dress him up in spare--too big--pajamas. From the look of things, Takao recognized the articles of his clothing.

He knelt down, eyes still focused on Takao even when the room shifted--spun as if they were on some freaky rollercoaster ride--fingering the thick paper cover of the chocolate bar. The long sleeve came rolling down his arm, effectively covering his hands. Out of habit, he shoved the chocolate bar up against his wrist and stood up, intent on getting the hell out of Hiroshi's room.

"W... what are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Kai started sarcastically, "thought I'd visit."

"Visit who?" The blunette's face creased and wrinkled, corners of his lips lifting to bare baby fangs. Kai raised an eyebrow at this development, the mild anxiety that came with conversing with Brooklyn dissipating completely. Shrugging, he sought to pass Takao and get out of the room.

"Does it matter?"

"YES!" Apparently the Dragoon blader had other ideas. The younger teen wrenched Kai's wrist to the side and pushed him towards the bed. Kai faltered in his steps, one foot landing in a wrong angle. He corrected the mistake but by then Takao had crowded him into a corner, seeming to have grown spontaneously within the few seconds.

Anger did that to you--Kai thought privately and threw the chocolate bar at the blunette's face. Takao yelped, more out of surprise than actual pain, and let out a strangled groan when Kai slugged him across the jaw. It didn't last long--something about the Kinomiya gene and thick heads. The blow didn't hurt as much as it should have. Takao was still hesitating, even with the three years of bottled up abandonment, betrayal, and anger; Takao was still hesitant before his former team leader. Kai had no such qualms. His head buzzed unpleasantly as he shoved the blunette away with an open palm. His knuckles burned belatedly, like that of a healing bruise being prodded repetitively.

"Is this why you've been avoiding me, throwing me off..." Takao's eyes flashed violet and indigo as he leaped on the slate-haired teen and sent them both crashing against the ground. Kai let out a muffled grunt as the younger teen's heavier frame landed against his back. He felt his lower lip split open at the impact and quickly sought to scramble out of Takao's grip, his fingers slipping on the smeared blood.

Takao breathed hard and punched Kai hard across the cheekbones. To his credit, Kai didn't even make a sound as he rolled his hips to buck the younger teen off. Takao simply hit him again and straddled his waist, fingers scrambling to find a purchase on the all too pale neck. "You should have just told me!" His nails dug into the soft underside of Kai's jaw. The auburn-eyed teen kicked, a pained grimace crossing his features as he struggled to breathe beneath Takao's grip.

"...Do... you think... I wanted this...?" The expression on Takao's face was ugly, his feelings uglier, but the blunette teen felt as though this would be the only way he would find out, the only way to make the stubborn older boy talk. So he tightened his grip, unfaltering even when Kai's leg began to shake. Even when before his rose-filtered eyes, the split lip began to heal, the drying blood cracking over the firm surface.

Takao quickly threw himself off and scrambled backwards against the door using his hands. Kai gasped as his chest expanded slightly to accommodate the extra mouthfuls of air. He shivered, the pajama shirt slipping down his shoulders and laying it bare against the hard floor. "Do you think I cared enough about what'd happen to you if you knew?" He wiped the blood from his mouth, the skin around his neck burning even as the black and purple bruises faded into sickly yellow until even that disappeared. "But Hiroshi does." He stood up, shaking and the blue-eyed teen saw stark lines crisscrossing his collarbone. "He cares enough to keep you from making a total ass of yourself."

"Loving someone isn't a mistake." Loyalty soon won over anger--and fear?--and Takao reached out only to have Kai flinch away from him. His face burned in shame, his pockets burned. He took out Dragoon's white bey and saw that it was reacting almost violently, the bit-core quivering in its slot--_Seiryu_ was trying to get out. Kai stared wide eyed, a deeper red creeping over his auburn irises.

"Fool."

Hiroshi burst in upon the scene, a plastic laundry basket in his hands. He quickly dropped the still-warm load and hid Kai from Takao's view. He muttered quick words, most of them flying over the younger Kinomiya's head. The glow of his bit beast had died away, its plastic confinements still radiating warmth. Kai quickly swiped the orange-and-white jacket from the laundry basket.

"You shouldn't have brought me here."

"I didn't know he'd be back so soon."

"You're _his_ brother bastard; you're supposed to keep an eye on _him_."

"Kai..."

"Don't dammit, don't touch me. I'm not helping you fix this...!"

"You can't keep doing this to yourself!"

Kai shoved his arms into the sleeves of his jacket--the only thing Hiroshi had been able to save aside from his socks. He glared at Takao in an attempt to get him out of the doorway. The blunette stood his ground and glared back, stomping the floor with his feet as if to make a point.

"No! I'm not going anywhere. I don't care what Hiroshi thinks! Loving you isn't wrong!"

The slate-haired teen snorted, quelling the laughter in his throat.

"Loving me..." lips pressed down to a thin line. Kai turned his head briefly to toss a calculated glance over his shoulder, "well there you have it. _I _haven't told him anything, not yet. Your move, _Jin of Gale_." And almost to himself Kai added, "Prove us right."

-

-

"Saint Shields?"

"Always to the point ain't ya? Decimated, Falborg couldn't find them anywhere besides a few stragglers being rounded up by police. The place by the docks are empty, we might have had the sighting of one of the blonde ones..."

"The one that did us in back in America?"

"Dunno, the image resolutions were crap but I guess the skin tones were similar. She did see Yamashita Kane, former leader of Psykicks. He was heading towards the hospital." And before Yuriy could ask Boris continued on graciously, "Kinomiya Hiroshi's on him. I'm not sure how that'll turn out."

The redhead was silent. He tossed Suzaku's bit into the air and caught it before handing it to Ivan. Ivan took it wordlessly and clenched it in his fist. The platinum-haired Russian ventured, "I guess he didn't need that back up after all." Yuriy waited for the elevator to come up and Boris rambled on, "But you knew that he'd be alright, so why... are you here fearless leader?"

The elevator came to a screeching stop on their floor. Yuriy climbed on, Ivan and Boris right behind him.

"He wouldn't let me touch him." Yuriy admitted earning a lewd grin from Boris. The now tallest member on their team preceding--Yuriy by an additional half inch--turned towards its shortest member and said,

"Some guys just can't get a clue. Usually when people do that it tells you that you're being a stubborn ass..."

Yuriy bristled noticeably and Boris raised his hands.

"He kissed me but he wouldn't touch me."

"How the hell's that possible?"

"Wait, when you said that he wouldn't let you touch him, you mean that he wouldn't allow skin-to-skin contact?" Ivan frowned. The elevator dropped to the first floor. "So whatever he did, it was temporary..."

"Huh," Boris commented, looking down on the blunette. "So the fainting thing..."

"I don't faint."

"Sure."

"When he left, he looked as if he was going to die." Yuriy snarled. Ivan jumped sideways bumping into Boris' legs. The taller Russian shot him an annoyed look.

"If you haven't noticed, he gets that look every other month." Boris pointed out dryly, "and correct me if I'm wrong here but... does that mean Kuro Suzaku is... back?"

"Kuro Suzaku has always been with us, awake or otherwise asleep." Ivan said, offering a crooked grin, "It wasn't something Kai could just throw away. He's stuck with it, I guess for life."

Boris frowned,

"How does sex work?"

Ivan gave him an irritated shove. Yuriy stiffened, staring at his--slightly--taller friend. His eyes narrowed until only a glimpse of the icy blue was visible through his dark lashes.

" Brooklyn..."

-

-

Hiroshi decided he really didn't need to justify his actions to his younger brother again. But Takao was blocking the doorway and Kai was looking elsewhere, finding the open window promising. Migraine settled over the man's head and his shoulders slumped. He glowered at the cell phone on the bedside table before snapping a curt,

"Get out of the way Takao."

The blunette shook his head viciously much like a small terrier. Kai looked away bored, it was between the two Kinomiyas now. "You don't love him, he doesn't love you."

"You don't know that!" with each word, Takao's face flushed further until it was as red as the vest he was wearing. The younger Kinomiya stepped forward pointing an accusatory finger in his face. "You think you know everything but you don't! How do I know that you don't just want him for yourself?!"

"Because I'm not that sick and twisted."

"I didn't know you were homophobic." Takao muttered bitterly. He took his cap off and wrung it in his hands. Hiroshi remembered that he had given it to the boy a long time ago, before he had left to wander the world alone.

'_Big words...'_

Hiroshi flinched as the thought brushed up against him. Kai flashed a quiet smirk before returning to his brooding pose. Dragoon, still in the blunette's hand, began to glow again.

"I'm not."

Then they were big brother and little brother again, Takao giving him a pathetic look with his moist eyes begging him to make things right. Hiroshi resisted initially, trying to hint at the slate-haired teen beside him to leave.

'_Coward...'_

'_Damn right I am.'_

And Kai staggered as if he had been physically hit. Hiroshi took perverse pleasure in watching the stubborn teen pale into a color whiter than his sheets. "But I can't allow you to have this... relationship Takao."

"Kai's my friend. Even if..."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it."

"I do mean it, I do. And I want him to know... what I feel... about him."

"No"

"Hiroshi...!"

'_Tell him why. It won't stop unless you tell him why. Tell him the truth. Tell him who I am and who you are. Tell him about the darkness, tell him, tell him.'_

'_No'_

Hiroshi doubled over, his hand pressing over his eyes frantically in an attempt to drown out the light. Takao was by his side instantly, holding him up as his legs threatened to collapse over themselves. Kai watched without a hint of morose, his legs stretching automatically and carrying him towards the wooden doorway.

'_Then I will.'_

"Even in Japan," Kai said out loud, nonchalance belying the conflict his form. "Incestuous relationships between siblings are illegal. And I suppose, even though he's denied it for so long. He can't ignore the truth of our blood when it's been laid out in front of him."

_There is laughter_

* * *

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**Ayatsuji- **no worries, I can only imagine what goes on in universities, you guys are probably under piles of homework at this point (good luck with that) can't say I envy ya –mock shudder- my sleeping pattern's been screwed can you tell? ;D 

I like possessive-evil-Brooklyn. Brooklyn wouldn't be Brooklyn without being otherwise possessive and ebil P glad you liked it.

...And damn, Kai and Yuriy haven't been exactly hopping to it like bunnies –screws up face- Dragon Balls can only go so far, wonder if it specializes in relationship problems. Heh... where do you get Dragon Balls in the first place?

Ooh I'll just get the Namek ones and get three for one deal xD

**YuriyTalaIvanov- **Hiroshi (gotta remember that Hiroshi dammit!) is a stalker –tries to keep a straight face but fails- just kidding. Guess he got lucky. And Kai isn't exactly scared of Tyson/Takao. Just a little skittish, talking to your other stalker on the phone will do that to you.

Season Two featured the Saint Shields as semi-antagonists who wanted the Japanese team's bit beasts to seal into a hunk of rock. They're back at it again in this story. Tiring but yeah, nothing personal. They just like bothering people for no good reason.

And yeah, looks like the picture's still on him.

**Pikke Wood- **FFN's trying to keep me out, keeps crashing on me. Makes a nice excuse to not update for a month doesn't it? -Laughs- don't worry, Tala gets Kai in the end -mutters-_ I hope_.

**Ma.anda-** if you look at chapter – you'll see that the pendant is actually an empty bit. They were using it to shield themselves from the dark... or whatever it is that Kai's been doing. I don't think the italicized writings belong to anyone in particular; they're stray thoughts passing through.

-Tries to keep a straight face, fails- Hiroshi is a stalker -coughs-

...Just kidding

-

**A.C.:** thanks everyone for the reviews-! Yep I've given you a lot to swallow hmm...

(Yeah... I did imply that the three are blood relatives up there -nods-)

...I've just realized that I've been calling Hiroshi... Hitoshi... who's Hitoshi? –hangs head in shame-


	18. Chapter 18: Remember

**A.C.:** It's amazing how the mind can go on a tangent. Umm... right... so I totally failed in my attempt to wrap this up in two years meh -shrugs- dialogue mostly because... I wasn't able to write. I did write but just not... relevant subjects. And yeah...

Yeah.

-Makes a weird face-

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

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For reference in case you're confused...

Ian as Ivan

Spencer as Sergei

Bryan as Boris

Boris as Balcov

Tala as Yuriy

Hiro as Hiroshi

Tyson as Takao

Hilary as Hiromi

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* * *

The rounded pebbles hissed and swore as the waves tore the shore apart. Brooklyn stared at his ghostly likeness in the window before throwing back another swallow of an unidentified fruit drink. He winked at it and it smiled back reluctantly, slow and bit stupid in his opinion. The image in his beverage showed a sharper image, slit-shaped pupils in tropical colors, dark and hungry looking.

A girl bumped shoulders with him and the mirror images scattered like fish in a pond as he gave her a sunny smile and a handful of kind words. She blushed, smiling at him hopefully as she began to pick up the conversation and fill the space with inane chattering.

His fingers began to circle the rim of the glass, waiting.

-

-

The chilly wind ruffled his hair, but he didn't feel it--he couldn't--so focused on the other two before him.

Takao swayed on his feet, shaking his head sideways in denial of the words uttered, frightened at the thought of losing the last semblances in normality. His face cringed and contorted, taking on various shapes through emotions. He spat denials, dwindling down to protests then finally silence.

All through this Kai watched patiently before inquiring casually, "Are you finished?"

The blunette flared back up, offended. He collapsed into peals of nervous laughter, arms clenching around his middle.

"You just told me... oh man you had me going for a sec..." the weak chuckles tapered off, and he cleared his throat. "If we were really brothers, someone... someone would have told me... heck Hiroshi would have told me already." The watery blue eyes swiveled to the slate-haired man. "Right? You wouldn't... you wouldn't have kept this from me."

"The man's been running out of your life since you were five. Is it really hard to believe that he might be keeping secrets from you?"

Takao shook his head fervently,

"Not something this important," he swallowed, his hand straying towards Hiroshi's cuffs.

Kai's lips stretched lazy and deliberate. His hands hung limply from his knees, fingers weaving themselves against the air. Hiroshi glared at him hard but avoided Takao's touch. "You're lying." Takao breathed in wonderment. Kai bore his incisors. "You would have told me in the beginning..."

"I didn't know in the beginning. I didn't bother keeping track of him." then he added as an afterthought, "If I had gone to her funeral, you and I might have met then."

"Her funeral."

"Your mother, not mine."

"Dad had an affair?" Takao looked faint, the hue of skin matching the cool pallor of Kai's own.

"She was your mother..." Kai repeated dismissively before Hiroshi interrupted with a warning, "Kai." The slate-haired teen froze, his eyes blown wide. "Enough." Kai tried to sneer, blow the man's orders off. But his spine straightened visibly, his lips pressed in a thin line. Hiroshi breathed with a low hiss, a tick in his jaw giving everything away. Takao recoiled visibly, the sudden tension in the air palpable and even unbearable.

"Is that true?" Takao demanded, an edge of hysteria entering his voice. Dragoon's bit kept quiet now, the blunette's power stretching too far and fast to focus on bringing the bit beast back to life. It was a small blessing, but appreciated--especially when it seemed as though the younger Kinomiya was about to have a stroke at the tender age of fifteen. "All this time, Kai was my--_our_ brother. All this time..."

Hiroshi let out a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He turned his face up towards the ceiling, not quite ready to meet his brother's eyes--neither of them. Pressing the calloused pads against his eyelids he asked tiredly, "What do you want me to say Takao?"

"Anything," Takao snarled in response, some of the colors returning to his face. "Hell I'll even believe that maybe you were even in the Abbey with him." when none of the replies were forthcoming the sickly maroon drained out of his cheeks again. "Oh god..."

"Telling you..." Hiroshi started, shaking his head in exasperation. "What good would it have done?" there was a small rustle, almost unnoticeable in the silence of his room. "What good would it have possibly done?"

"I... I..." Takao hiccupped, tears springing freely to his eyes. He backed away from his older brother then, pivoting out and reaching out for the only other person in the room. Hiroshi commented unnecessarily,

"He's gone."

-

-

The air was heavy but clean.

Kai didn't wait for the two Kinomiyas to finish. He jumped down the window and landed on the packed earth without making a sound. At the sudden motion, a stray cat hissed at him from below the porch and sprinted up the fencing. Kai stared after it coolly, at its dirty gray fur and his reflection in its calculating amber eyes. The feline looked back with a scornful grimace, its crooked tail brushing up against its flanks.

His toes curled slightly against his bare feet.

His breath fogged up his face in a steady stream.

He began to walk forward.

He opened Hiroshi's cell phone and scrolled down the caller list.

-

-

"You wonder why they make an effort to decorate a box." Ivan remarked as he sat astride behind Boris. "I mean, it's just a box, it's what it's inside that counts."

Boris rubbed the edge of his mouth, his tongue suddenly feeling dry. He needed a drink. If the clouds above were any indication, he would need to break the twice the amount of speed limits to get back on time. Taking the advantage of a red light, he glanced back at Ivan questioningly.

"You going all philosophical on me Ivan?"

But he had to admit, the box in question was dubious at best. With his shoot-first-ask-questions-later type of mindset, it was a wonder he hadn't set it up with a bomb and stuck it under the nearest bridge. Ivan jabbed his kidneys in retaliation.

"There was a camera in the last five kilometers or so, do you even have a license?"

"This is Japan. They sell everything from hard liquor to condoms in a vending machine."

"Which is why we nearly got pulled over last time you tried to run at red light. Stop being so conspicuous."

"Can't help looking good," he earned a disbelieving snort in return, "but hey, you don't look as short in this country." Next punch indicated that he might have to sign up for organ transplants. "Maybe they're trying to look good," Boris amended, "Hiwatari's name gets thrown around a lot." He leaned against the handles, bored. "What's wrong with a nice box anyways? Sergei would kick our asses if we carried his ashes around in a first aid kit."

Sergei--it didn't hurt anymore... well that was a lie but it no longer _burnt_. Pain was something he was familiar with, the emptiness of loss, fear resulting from the fact that he had touched someone had been touched in return scared him. Possibly why, even three days later, he rarely left the side of his teammates. It wasn't obvious, he didn't stalk Yuriy through showers as tempting as that had been. But he put a foot down when suggested that he go and pick up Sergei's ashes alone from the crematorium. Ivan had followed reluctantly, knowing, but hadn't mentioned anything.

He'd lay off the blunette's height for a while, just to keep him on his toes.

"It could have been worse." The light changed to yellow. "He died fighting; there are worse ways to die." He heard the shorter Russian let out a small sigh behind him.

"Forgive me if the thought doesn't make me feel any better."

"It wasn't supposed to... hey green light."

Wiry arms immediately encircled his waist.

"Oh sh-"

-

-

After three rings a heavily accented voice answered in English, the cacophony of background noise bleeding through the phone. The stress on the vowels reverberated against the receiver. Kai quickly requested Brooklyn and with a nonchalant 'eh' the phone was passed on to another person as he walked down the street. The noise faded and strengthened like the tide as the phone exchanged owners. Finally, the ginger-haired blader replied with a purr, "You should take better care of yourself."

"Keep out of my dysfunctional family life then."

"Mmm, something tells me you would have walked out barefoot anyways."

"You planned this."

"Perhaps," Brooklyn acquiesced with a short laugh, "What do I owe the pleasure Kai?"

"Don't call me again, ever."

"No, I'm not giving you up yet. You're one of a kind..."

"Give it back Kai." And in an instant Brooklyn was murmuring nonsensical things into his ears--for his and his alone. Kai froze as a deer might have in front of car lights cutting through the dark. He gripped the phone tighter against his ear and Hiroshi repeated, "Give it back." Brooklyn had not finished speaking yet but his words were harsher, cutting and frustrated. The gentle lilt of his voice carried over the cold air as Hiroshi folded it shut, still clenched in the teen's hand. "Should have known he put you up to this."

Kai tossed the phone at the man. Hiroshi caught it with a wry grimace, taking in the state of his dress; barefoot and pajama pants sizes too big for him, an orange-and-white jacket hung loosely around his shoulders.

"Kicked out of home so early Hiroshi?" Kai made a sharp turn, barely slowly as the pavement gave away to cobbled road across the woods. Dry leaves crackled as Hiroshi followed,

"Takao's taking it very well thanks to you, Ryuunosuke... he's never accepted me in the first place." He snorted, the sound transmuting into a cloud of moisture. "I suppose I should count my blessings."

They went in deeper into the forest until the beige-and-cream; brown-and-rust lines hid the outlying houses and streets from view. Hiroshi took a step back when Kai brushed up against a Japanese maple, its wiry branches swinging back to create an audible thwack against his chest. The slate-haired teen stopped unexpectedly and said, "I was going to tell him, all of it."

"...But?"

Kai looked furious, frustration pinching his features as he turned around. "You already know." Any protests that might have been there suddenly died on his lips, "and you know why." The branches seemed to shake as the sound exploded outwards unreasonably loud and clear. Hiroshi barely held his gaze,

"Sorry."

"Save it." And Kai continued on, his feet soft and dainty against the half-frozen ground. Hiroshi did not follow.

"Does it matter that I never wanted this for you, for me in the first place?"

"You made a choice back in the abbey, you chose to run away. It was the smart thing to do, congratulations, you're a survivor." Kai paused a second time as the former BEGA coach caught up. "You no longer belong with us. All I've asked for was that you leave us--_me_--alone. So as Takao has asked, why?"

"Maybe I wanted to apologize, make amends before you disappear again."

Kai's eyes were half-mast, shimmering like a sea of wine. The edge of his mouth quirked in a derisive smirk, "You want to fix me Kinomiya?" his voice hardened, "I'm not another project for you to work on. Order me if you must but it will be a cold day in hell before I let you _'fix'_ me."

"Fine." Hiroshi held something up between his fingers, an empty bit.

Kai immediately felt a pull towards it and knew what it was. The jacket pockets were empty--how had he not noticed?--He schooled his features into a mask of impassivity. "I saw the marks around your heart, they weren't there before. You've... let her in." Kai growled. "Why?"

The colors in Kai's eyes phased from sunset red to deep amethyst. His tongue flickered out tasting the air, cringing, backing up an inch before stepping forward another. He shook his head, shadows flickering over his face. The pupils rounded and contracted into pinprick points. The phone vibrated in an angry hum. He felt his hair rise on end. He held his neck stiffly, "I _needed_ her, she needed me back."

"Dammit Kai you have Suzaku. You have your inheritance laid out before you and you're still stuck playing this game." Hiroshi closed his palm and the bit disappeared from view. The phoenix blader did not bother relaxing, "she's dangerous."

"She, he, it's me. You gave me to her, him."

"I was seven, I didn't know any better."

"You knew what I was, even then."

"No," Hiroshi denied with a sad expression, "but I do now."

"I was your bit beast, Kuro Suzaku was meant for you." The words overlapped each other in Hiroshi's ears. It was as if there were two Kais speaking at the same time--one meant for this world and the other not. "Was and still is but no longer. That bit will never last."

"You were supposed to be my brother."

"No, I was supposed to be your bit beast." Kai shrugged, "my creation wasn't your fault but the fact that we met each other is." In a smaller voice he resumed, "it's the only thing that's keeping me in one piece right now. I can't just get rid of... _this..._"

Hiroshi only managed to look pained, "you shouldn't have to need it... you..."

"You gave her up," Kai said in a matter of fact voice, "she's mine now." He stretched his fingers out and plucked the bit out of Hiroshi's hands. The fused metal and plastic instantaneously crumbled away, pinched between the thumb and the index finger. "It doesn't hurt anymore when we touch. It shouldn't matter anymore."

"It's not you."

"It's not as though you can tell which one of us is which anymore." Kai scoffed, "I remember your face when you saw me, when you held me in your hands, I remember you screaming, leaving, coming to see me one last time. I remember seeing myself, the fire, the darkness, I remember you." He spun on the balls of his feet and lengthened his stride. His lean back was beginning to grow small, filtered out by wood and dead leaves. "But I don't. Because while some of us keep our promises, others _don't_."

-

-

And Kai ran, away from him. But it wasn't out of fear or discomfort or whatever it was that had taken its place as the flavor of the month.

He ran because he could.

Hiroshi followed for as long as his eye could see between the boundary of skeletal trees. When the flashes of white and orange stopped appearing, he turned around--towards home.

No, not towards home because it was never his home was it? He had lived there once, when his mother had left his brother and father back in Russia to marry a Japanese archeologist. The man had taken him in, never tried to supplement his father. The grandfather had disapproved of his son taking on another man's wife, disapproved of Hiroshi because he was not of blood. Then Takao had come bouncing along. Hiroshi was tolerated, never loved--never wanted it--and one day he just left under pretence of an expedition and an unsung promise to come back.

Now, in the present, in Japan, he had come back in the only way he knew how. Of his two brothers, one welcomed him in open arms before turning away in confusion; the second had rejected him on the spot. And he deserved it, most of it.

At some point in the crossroads, Takao joined him on his venture back home. The blunette stuck close, their arms not quite touching through the cloth, their pinkies brushing up against each other's. The blue in his eyes was dimmed, his voice hoarse, his skin tight and pale.

"'m ready to hear that story now."

And Hiroshi looked at his younger brother with surprise and something akin to hope unfurling in his crimson-tinted eyes. The elder Kinomiya didn't bother with questions this time. He pushed the cap over Takao's eyes, blinding him, gently guiding him down the streets while recanting a tale that should have never happened in the first place.

* * *

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**A.C.:** after about a month of juggling this chapter around, I decided to just go ahead and rewrite it. -fidgets-

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**catchmeloon**- Thank you :)

**Ma.anda****-** Something I've been thinking about since the guy's been introduced into the series. Seriously, he looks more like Kai than Takao.

**YuriyTalaIvanov**- -grins- wonders of fanfiction. And yes they had the same mom though it's kinda doubtful if Kai sees it that way. Construction-worker-person-guy is an original character that spontaneously disappeared off the radar after the chapter -coughs-

**Ayatsuji-** I like my Brooklyn a lot too -nods- heh college -flails- no one's on these days. Damn the term differences and everything. Happy leap year? These things only come four times a year -laughs- 


	19. Chapter 19: Disappear

**A.C.:** Short one this time...

's what happens when you know what to write but have no idea how to write it out.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade

**Warnings:** As always, watch out for the rampant use of grammar

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Kai was his brother-_-half--_simple as that.

So Kai wasn't fully human, what else was new? Takao could have attested to that based on first impressions alone. There was no doubt in his mind that the older teen was special, even through the fits of darkness that had left them scattered and broken. Kai was different; he was special, one of a kind, deadly, beautiful, and amazing. Kai was Kai. He was the phoenix--he didn't think there was anything else that could be said to that. But Kai could bleed like the rest of them, swirls of red on red upon his skin and in his hair. Kai could break as he had time and time again before rising anew. Kai could cry--and why not? Phoenixes cried, if birds could cry why couldn't soldiers...? Kai could change and that was startling because the one consistency he had depended on was the volatile flames that he gave off. He burned, he learned...

And Takao could not see how he could honestly say the same for himself.

-

-

Her eyes gleamed acid bright.

She was a predator; she could hunt with the best of them. Now the blood was in the water once more, distracting her from her chosen task--and what was it exactly? Sharkrash dove restlessly against her mind. She could already hear the distress in the waves, panic in the on the shore as corruption bled red through blue. Joseph whimpered a quiet rasp where had once been his honey-smooth young voice. Wordlessly she pressed a plastic cup to his chapped lips. He lapped at the cubed ice reluctantly before sucking on one through his teeth.

His senses had dulled and were sluggish. He could no longer see what she saw, he couldn't taste the trail laid out before them. Shaking her head, she pushed her bit beast away and tended to her ailing brother. Briefly, her fingers flitted over the delicate links of a ruined chain necklace around her neck. Worriedly, she brushed back the matted green hair on her brother's forehead and looked past the sleeping and crying bodies lying all around them. She stared past the dark and at the shut doors as if they might let her glimpse what lay ahead.

-

-

He had told Dunga to stand down more times that he could dare count. He was tiring and they all knew it. The others, green-eyed and staring, were just waiting for the blonde to wear their leader down before they pounced. They were spooked--not that he blamed them--and wanted to abort the mission no matter how many times he had tried to reassure them. And deep down he agreed. There was no way they could take down Hiwatari even as injured as he was.

'_He's not human'_

He had known that for quite some time now. Predators tended to respect one another's chosen elements. Ozuma was no different only... his attention was adverted as Flash Leopard stirred in his mind. The feline had found another target as Sharkrash and Miriam had. This time a little weaker, more vulnerable...

It looked like they wouldn't be leaving Japan totally empty handed.

-

-

The phone rang as he knew it would.

He crossed his arms and stared at the antique piece sourly, almost contemptuously as it pierced the near dead silence of the mansion. His lips lifted in a humorless grin. He slumped against the plush cushions and his hand shot out at the last minute to lift the receiver. He cradled it thoughtfully against his chest before answering, his eyebrows rose as his sensitive ears picked up the background noise on the other end.

"Yeah?" Yuriy sneered when no answer was forthcoming. There was a slight chuckle on the other end. "Couldn't you fine somewhere a bit more tasteful?"

"You shouldn't talk Yuriy." Brooklyn purred lazily. In the background, there was a faint screech of club music, people dancing across the hard floor, people touching, people moaning, people _fucking._ Yuriy scowled,

"If you're not going to say anything helpful..."

"Be careful" Brooklyn said bluntly.

Yuriy actually blinked at this because if there was one thing the ginger-haired prodigy could be described as, it wasn't blunt. "He's weaker now, I can't feel him"

"What?"

"I can't feel him, you should know. You're the wolf; you can smell it on him."

"Always knew you'd get a kick out of watching"

"Please, but I mean it. He's weak... he is weaker." Brooklyn remanded after some thought. Yuriy narrowed his eyes. "Consider it a friendly warning from one deity to his devoted follower" Yuriy growled deep "You might want to get away for a while, somewhere... colder..." The redhead hung up. He had no time to waste on Brooklyn's musings,

"Ivan?" He called, "listen carefully..."

-

-

The gun felt unusually heavy in his hands. The Kinomiya house was a traditional one, one with swords and fans adorning its wooden walls. The gun had been recently purchased through a contact. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it later. He flipped open his cell phone. There was a message waiting. A photo of a woman loaded halfway before he deleted it. He stood outside for a moment, uncertain as to what he was to do. He turned his heels and headed towards the hospital.

-

-

His vision blurred hadn't he gone through his before? Something about losing too much blood, choking on chocolate, getting a call from Brooklyn, verbal vomiting and jumping out of windows. He swore as he struck a fist against an innocuous tree. The branches rattled weakly. A leaf fell, dried and twisted, onto the ground. The splintered skin on his knuckles mended before his eyes, flakes of red scattered across the back of his hand. He immediately took his hand off of the trunk as if burnt; unnerved even though he knew it was perfectly 'natural'.

He stubbed his toes on the tangle of tree roots as he stumbled out of the woods. He finally sat down, unable to move. Propping his knees up he stretched his arms on top of them and looked at the fencing that surrounded his estate. The black bars looked foreboding and cold, meant to keep people out and perhaps meant to keep people in. Kai laughed, his laughter becoming mist in the cold air. Breathing in deeply he felt his back grow numb until he couldn't any more of the pain between the ribs.

The wind blew strongly and shifted his bangs over his face. When he found the strength to sweep them back he felt a spread of sudden cold prickling his nose. Blinking in mild surprise he willed his eyes to focus on what was in front of him. But there was nothing, just the expanse of the land surrounded by the metal fencing, a fountain beyond it, and the mansion itself, fit to house a royalty.

And he saw it, the out of place amongst the landscape of pale earthen colors. He lifted his head, legs straining as he fought to get up. He held a hand out. Minutes went by and finally a snowflake landed over stiff fingers and melted there, turning into a tiny droplet of water.

"Hn..." Kai blew a steady line of white steam into the air. "First snow..." stumbling he stepped over to the grass and over towards the looming fence. And he fell to his knees, feeling distinctly out of his breath as his vision blackened and came back in full color too bright to be natural. His body pitching, he held his hands out in front and caught himself just before he fell flat on his face. He gasped, breathing suddenly feeling like a heavy chore as he gulped down mouthfuls of frosty air all at once.

How long had he stayed there he didn't know but he had a feeling it had been a long time when he saw the whiteness frosting everything all around. Gritting his teeth he forced himself up and reached for the black bars. They were cold, colder than the snow itself. He pressed his forehead against one and felt his skin burn as the cold seared through his head. Dizzy, he tightened his hold and set a foot on the knee height base to pull himself up.

"You came back."

Was there a doubt in the first place?

-

-

Maybe they should hole up in Hokkaido where the winters were harsh but no one around for miles to disturb them. He related his plans to Jimmy who had no choice but to listen.

"You guys have visitors." The nurse announced, having long stopped taking notice of the blunette since he had become a permanent fixture in the room. Takao entered, scuffing his feet against the tiled floor.

"Oh hey," the blue-eyed teen said helplessly "you... look horrible" the nurse left them alone. Kane wordlessly gestured towards an empty chair. "I'm sorry," Takao blurted out, momentarily pausing from his fidgeting. Kane didn't even bat an eye,

"For what?"

* * *

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* * *

Thank you Samu and Ma.anda for reviewing xP


	20. Chapter 20: Protect

**A.C.:** apparently there is a saying that not even idiots get colds. Alas I rate less than an idiot -sneezes- ah summer cold, I was wondering when you'd show up. –Sneezes repeatedly-

Oh and I don't own Beyblade apparently, damn

* * *

-

-

* * *

"Would they wake up if I bring back... you know..."

"No I don't _know_ Takao." Kane hissed in an eerily accurate imitation of Ray. "Are you mad?" It was the first shred of emotion he had shown in the entirety of the other blunette's visit. He kicked the chair to the floor, the cheap plastic clattering against the scuffed tiles. "Those are what did this to us in the first place!" Takao flinched, but the three around them didn't even move. "I... we should have never taken them." Kane's hand shook visibly. He quickly shoved them into the greasy tangle of his hair where they took root and spread against the blue dotted scalp. "It wasn't worth it; it'll never _be_ worth it." he threw Takao a sardonic look before slipping down to sit, his back against Salima's bed frame.

"But they might get better! If separating them was why they won't wake up in the first place then..."

"Coma Takao." Kane laughed, his eyes touched by hysteria. "They're in a fucking coma."

"It might help..."

"How would you get them back huh?" Kane snapped, "Kai is a credible foe, even if he didn't touch Jim and Salima."

"He's being controlled," Takao argued, kneeling down. He grabbed Kane's shoulder. Kane winced and tried to get away. "I just need to help him remember like before, about Dranzer, about our team, about us... about me."

Kane shook his head shivering and wrapping both his hands around his scraped elbows.

"You're being suicidal."

And there it was, a fool's courage blossoming blue in his eyes.

"I can do it. I have to do it for you guys."

_No, you're doing it for him_

_No, you're doing it for__** yourself**__._

"I'll be back." Takao promised solemnly, "with all your bit beasts." Takao ran out of the room, near colliding with the nurses around the water cooler in the corner. Kane watched quietly as the flashes of red, yellow and blue disappeared from his sight.

"No you won't."

-

-

"Here's one idiot imported from Bumfuck, wherever. Need someone to hold your hand

while you talk to him?"

"Don't be crass"

The young man grunted disagreeably and took a reluctant step back. A girl stepped forward replacing him, face white and sharp with heavy make up. She was short and petite in stature; she looked far too young though she had a good year or two up on Hiroshi.

"May we take our leave? Some of us do have prior commitments."

"You don't know who you're dealing with." Dunga spat as the duct tape was stripped from his lips with a prolonged ripping noise. "I'm warning you, let go of me now and maybe...!"

"You'll what? You can't try anything; the Neo Borg has near decimated your numbers in Japan. They get a wind of the fact that you guys are still up and running, you guys will be shot down faster than you can say 'let it rip'."

"...What do you want?"

"Just a little question I have that's been bothering me." Hiroshi knelt down and crouched until they were eye to eye. "You're not after Kai anymore, not even you guys are that stupid. So I wanted to ask, will Takao be next?"

-

-

Yuriy gently pried Kai's fingers from the frozen bars and kissed his palm. Kai twitched and pulled his hand away. The redhead shrugged and led him towards the side door.

"Does it hurt?"

Kai tried to let out a noncommittal answer when the world spun and he froze in place like a frightened rabbit before a circling hawk. It was as though the ground was flying towards his face to greet him. He immediately jerked his head back, his left ankle bent underneath his leg as he stumbled. He fell backwards landing in the soft snow. He breathed tiny puffs of steam. He quieted, all limbs gone numb.

Yuriy appeared as a shadow against the sky. He knelt down, fingers pressed against Kai's cool skin. Kai closed his eyes his breathing shallow. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he reached out to grab the redhead's wrist. His silver lashes fluttered uneasily, something dark shifting beneath his face. When he opened his eyes again his expression was one of confusion, his eyes like the most perfect amethyst known to mankind. If there had been a name, he would have been the one to receive it. The first to be marked by Kuro Suzaku, Hiwatari Kai.

"...It hurts, more than you know. When I don't see you..." he thumbed Yuriy's inner wrist, at the delicate pulse that jumped at his touch. "When I can't touch you."

"When you won't."

He let go of Yuriy's wrist. The other teen didn't think he meant to but missed the loose contact all the same. His legs ached with the cold weather and all. But it was a welcome kind of pain, something that grounded him to reality, something that prevented him from

pushing Kai away and being pushed away. He sat down, trying to move Kai's body over his legs so that the younger wouldn't die of hypothermia before they got back inside.

"When I can't." Kai corrected mildly. Was there a difference though in this situation? Can't or won't, it seemed like a minor problem of late. "When the last thing I want is to taint you..."

Yuriy shook his head, snowflakes raining down from his hair. He grabbed the back of Kai's head and brought their faces close. He huffed against their lips,

"Let me worry about that."

He swallowed the string of protests that followed. "Let me worry for once."

-

-

There was knocking.

And more knocking.

With a muffled groan Boris pulled away.

"Busy!" He barked out and nuzzled the girl's neck. The girl purred, her rich brown hair curling against her cheeks. He was just about to figure out how to wiggle out of his pants without moving from his position when the knock came again incessant and loud. Plastering a fake smile on his face he stalked towards the door and threw it open.

It wasn't Ivan.

Hell it wasn't anyone in the household like he thought it'd be.

"Uhh..." Takao stared mouth wide at what little he could see of the strange girl on the bed and... The brunette backpedaled, falling on his butt before repeating apologies and prayer for whatever deity that was listening. Face redder than a ripe tomato, he spun and ran away.

"Eh..." Boris grunted noncommittally. "You did that on purpose you brat."

"Serves you right for using Kai's bed."

"Kai has a very nice bed." Boris explained slowly. "He won't mind, hell he won't even notice."

"Right," Ivan rolled his eyes and flicked a casual glance at the suddenly meek girl crouch beside the bed. "Well carry on, thanks for getting rid of him."

"Doubt that." Boris replied dubiously, looking towards where Takao had gone before swinging the door shut. "You might want to find him before he gets into something."

"Yeah, yeah."

-

-

Despite the many servants within the walls of the Hiwatari mansion, few actually stopped

to take the notice of the blunette lost in the halls. Even fewer paid attention as Takao, losing patience with the never ending panels of dark wood, carpet, marble sculptures and faded pictures, gave up on--unnecessary--stealth and began to demand that he be shown a way out.

A passing butler took a pity on the young teen and ushered him out the closest exit--via kitchen. He immediately regretted it when the Dragoon blader lost all thoughts of leaving then and began sampling the food right under the kitchen staff's nose.

Needless to say, no one was very pleased about this and they were chased out just as Yuriy pushed the door open and consequently sandwiched Takao against the wall.

"Gah!" Takao yelped and pushed back. One of the redhead's hands snaked sideways and twisted him out of the wedge by the collar. The blunette ended up on the kitchen floor, flopping uselessly as he was steadily bent backwards.

"What's he doing here?"

"It's my fault sir, he was looking for the exit and this was the closest one..."

Yuriy let go. Takao floundered before sitting up, rubbing at the back of his neck. He glared at the older teen before noticing the pair of shaded eyes peeking over the redhead's shoulders.

"Kai?" Takao ducked around a swipe. Relief flooded his features. "You're here!" then came regret and disappointment as he rubbed his feet meekly against the floor and scratched the back of his head. "heh, of course you're here... look... what happened at back there..."

"Yes?"

"Hiroshi ah... told me stuff... and... yeah."

"Hn" And Kai brushed past him without a single comment.

-

-

"Why are you here?"

Takao kicked a pebble forward only he missed by a hair width and ended up spraying the air with snow. Yuriy looked on unimpressed as he followed quietly with both his hand in his pockets.

"I live here."

"No, why are you following me?"

"To make sure you actually find the way out this time."

"I'm not a kid."

"Never said you were."--Though Yuriy privately thought that Takao was a kid and it would probably stay that way till the blunette someday dropped dead with the understanding that the world wasn't made of puppies and rainbows.

Takao gritted his teeth. Was there no exit to this place? Where was the fence? Where was the door?--Then he saw the familiar line of black bars jutting out of the ground. His stride lengthened, feet stamping damp footprints haphazardly across the snow. The redhead stopped where he was and observed Takao's high-pitched yipping when his fingers made contact with the cold metal. The door opened with an ungainly screech and Yuriy cringed despite of himself. Figuring that even the blunette would know where to go once he exited the grounds, Yuriy headed back to the mansion. He didn't get far before younger teen stopped him once more.

"About Kai...!" The teen said suddenly. Yuriy glanced over his shoulders, irritation printed in block letters over his features.

"...What about Kai?"

"Don't you think he's changed?" Takao continued desperately. "Like he's different? Like back during the tournaments when we..." he closed the distance between them and they stood face to face, the blunette's hand almost itching to get a hold of the older teen's black sweater. The grim set to the other's features stopped him however and he stepped back, unnerved by the feral blue eyes.

"...I think you're confusing him with someone else."

Takao let out a desperate cough? Laugh? _'soudesuka'_ and turned towards the small doorway. He was brushing off the frost with his yellow sleeves when Yuriy suddenly spoke up,

"Takao, what exactly do you see Kai as?"

Takao whirled around, eager, desperate to provide an answer. His mouth dropped open and his tongue found a few syllables, nothing more, nothing less.

"He's... he's..."

What _was_ Kai to him now?

* * *

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* * *

Soudesuka- _'is that so', 'I see'_, but can be translated into most anything else. While speaking Japanese, when in doubt about what to say/how to carry on a conversation, this is the way to go. It's like the Japanese version of answer to life and all that. Very useful. –nods empathetically-

-

**YuriyTalaIvanov**- heh... thanks for the review anyways :)

**Catchmeloon-** glad you thinks so, thank you!

**Kurosaisei-** haha it's okay, you left a big one this time x3

...And now I'm getting confused because it's been so long since I've looked at all 19 chapters (waah!) and it's like--_holy when did I do that?_ Then I realize that I've been doing this for 19 chapters and two and a half years? and become sad that I've dragged it on for so long (sorry) -facepalm-

-sigh- summer already -sneeze-

**Ma.anda-** glad you think so, thanks for the review

**nssk2202**- thank you


	21. Chapter 21: Heart

**A.C.:** So... anyone miss me? -runs before is killed-

Yes, I realize pretty much nothing makes up for the six month gap between updates buuut...

I had a good reason

I'm pretty sure

I just can't think of one at the very moment

Gimmy a sec

-Offers tied up Kai-

* * *

"_Takao, what exactly do you see Kai as?"_

"_He's... he's..."_

_What __was__ Kai to him now?_

-

-

"Hey, hey, what about this dude?"

"Get rid of him"

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To save my idiot brother."

-

-

"Huh, Kai you're back."

The slate-haired teen shook his head absentmindedly in reply. As he made himself up the stairs, Ivan met him halfway and began to gently lead him back down. "Trust me; you don't want to go there."

"Boris." He stated flatly, his expression pinched and displeased. He trembled beneath his white-and-orange jacket though it was not visible unless one was looking for it. The shorter Russian eyed him casually; face determinedly pointed towards the ground floor. Kai made an impatient noise at the back of his throat before following, his feet oddly hesitant across the steps.

"Feh, as if." Ivan waved his hand, his hunt for the wayward Dragoon-blader abandoned for now. The chances were that he and Kai had already met though it was strange that the younger blunette was not hanging over his ex-captain as he had always done in the past.

Less trouble for him then, he just hoped that a skeletal corpse didn't show up weeks later during spring cleaning.

Kai sat down on the sofa seemingly determined to bodily merge with it. Attempting to scrap the mental image the thought brought into mind, Ivan offered, "got the tickets."

"Good."

"You sure about this?"

"There is nothing left here anyways." Kai mumbled, the silver-stained bangs falling into his face. His eyes became far away again, something akin to a galaxy forming in the startlingly clear depths. He closed his eyes, blinking the stars out of existence. "Wouldn't be fair..." he breathed.

"Kai?"

"...Hn?"

"You feel that?"

"...yeah."

"You... going to do something about it?"

A sigh.

"Yeah."

-

-

_He sees the flames on the walls and the smoke against the ceiling. He realizes, he doesn't remember how he got there._

-

-

"I don't know..." a hand went up to brush the unruly bangs back. He kicked the ground ruefully, his fist clenching. "Heh, Kai must think me a nuisance," he heard a snort of agreement. "But I can't help it. There's something different about him you know? He's beautiful." He turned around, grinning with a sort of sheepishness. "I... love him." Takao started walking again, towards the gate and the black bars. "And I guess, if you really someone." He put a hand against the gate, his fingers curling. "You let them... go."

Yuriy laughed, harsh and unforgiving. Like the winter, beautiful and terrifying. The redhead snarled out--"Don't tell me you actually believe that bullshit." The blunette quaked where he stood; still and afraid, angry as Yuriy prowled around him like a wolf to a newborn fawn. He could feel the moist breath across the outer shell of his ear, frightening but oddly provocative. Not for the first time, never, he wondered how he could compete with that. "Kai thinks he's a damned martyr who has to spend the rest of his life quarantined in some underground warehouse just to preserve this god-be-damned world. It'd give him a peace of mind that's true but that's not what I want, that's not what he needs."

"But what if he _**is**_ a danger to this world?!"

Yuriy grinned,

"Like I said, the world I don't care about."

His arm extended smoothly towards the gate, a polite way of kicking someone out – Takao thought and immediately blurted out,

"You can't just leave it like this!"

Takao grabbed Yuriy's arm. The redhead's entire demeanor changed. He didn't snarl, he didn't curse like he's seen the Neo Borg captain do in a state of agitation. Yuriy became stiff as a board, stiff like he would shatter any moment to impale him with dagger-like fragments.

"Like what?" he asked his voice low, mentally prying off the fingers one by one. Takao shivered at the low tone, his fingers curled, nails caught in the redhead's sweater. His handful of threads attached, a handful of black threads.

"Kuro Suzaku! He's your... you can't!!"

"Do you really think he's that weak?"

"You weren't there during Lake Baikal."

"No," Yuriy agreed, "I was there before that."

Silence then – "weren't you the one who was always harping on about believing in him...?"

-

-

He came through the snow as he had come through the trees. The delicate whiteness had fallen before him as had the yellow leaves. He was dressed the same way as he had left Hiroshi's room, still wearing the white-and-orange jacket that would have better fit the captain of the Neo Borg. Now that he had thought about it, it probably was the other Russian's jacket. He looked tired, resigned but amused. His eyes had always been piercing, beautiful, but they were no longer directed towards him.

They had _**never**_ been directed towards him, not in that way at least.

And probably never even if they had not been sibs from the start, not even if they were total strangers, not even if Kai was the chaser and he the chasee.

_**Never**_

-

-

"_What would you do if the person you loved wasn't the person you thought you were?"_

-

-

It was finality, an ultimatum.

Accept-it-or-leave-it, the body posture said as Yuriy lowered his head to devour Kai's mouth. The phoenix seemed reluctant at first, irritable, which did far greater things to Takao's ego than any other match-and-victory would have done. But jealousy bubbled, boiled over his cast-iron stomach as Kai eventually accepted, reciprocate even, with a flick of his soft tongue. The blunette tore his gaze away, his innards in shredded strips as he stepped backwards and stumbled against the black iron.

The two broke apart mere seconds later, Kai perfectly composed, maybe a tint of pink gracing his features. Yuriy was laughing silently under his breath, his pale blue eyes twinkling wolfishly as Takao stared back at them in mute despair.

There was a reason why Yuriy had not lashed out at him when he had grabbed his arm for a moment, challenging his claim.

Yuriy simply ceased to see him as a threat

-

-

"_What would you do if he was your brother?"_

-

-

With a loud clang, the attack gear of the bey struck the frost-coated bars before embedding itself into something far softer.

With a shout of surprise, Ozuma fell back, droplets of blood spraying the snow.

Takao stared dumbfounded at the fallen leader of the St. Shields.

-

-

_**What if you didn't care?I **_

_**

* * *

**_

**A.C.:** Sad thing is that I don't remember... this story

And that it makes me sadder trying to go throug it all

So sorry about the discrepancies and hope this chapter was to your likin D:

-

**This Account Is So Old Wow **- I see Kurosaisei-san has changed her name -w- I wonder about my story too hmm...

Substance? What is this substance you speak of? I is confuzzled

inexperienced Asianese + drinking = BAD!!!

**Gabz **- And there you have it, or not

Takao is slow and I am lazy

Give us time-! (gets hit by a brick)

**Miako6 **- So do I o.o


	22. Chapter 22: Good byes

**A.C.:** Ah here it is... the final chapter

Anyone disappointed...? (As in even before you've read the chapter?)

I swear, I was going to post this earlier but just couldn't get past my writer's block -makes a sad face-

Now this is where I list off all the sentimental crap about having started this back in '0x but I was never that wordy of a person

Sucky grammar person but wordy? Not in real life.

Yes, though I may have been inconsistent about posting disclaimers everywhere, this is a fanfic

Borrowing words of many wonderful authors on this site, if I owned the beyblade franchise, would I be here?

Anyways, it only took what? 3... years to complete 20 or so odd chapters? Thank you **, Ayatsuji, GabZ, ****Miako6, nssk2202, catchmeloon, YuriyTalaIvanov, Samu, Pikke Wood, valenciadarkness, tacks, Nameless Little Girl, sickofme, Reivin17, Ketsueki-Ken, Tuli-Susi, Mizuki Hikari, Kailover2008, innocentsmile, Lioku,** and others for walking with me all the (mid, little...) way with me :P much appreciated and thanks for reading!

With much regrets, unsaid laments I give you Chapter 21-

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-

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* * *

"We're blowing this joint?"

Boris sounded incredulous and pleased. He tossed one of the housemaids a saucy wink before glaring daggers at the Wyborg blader's back. "Why?" mutely, Ivan held the box of ashes closer to his chest and even Boris had to swallow down his next string of words at that. When he spoke again his voice was much quieter, more subdued. "Why now?"

"Because we're leaving."

"Leaving," Boris repeated, leaning against the decorative tables in the living room. "For good?"

"For good," Ivan confirmed, passing the taller Russian strips of paper that had dates and times printed on the front. "Or I guess until the next bey blading tournament but who's insane enough to host another one after last time?" Boris nodded noncommittally.

"The mansion?"

"Taken care of."

"Place to stay?"

"Also, taken care of."

"Kai?"

"Outside"

"Yuriy?"

"Somewhat aware"

"You?"

"Masterminding this"

"Me?"

"In the dark."

"The maids?"

"Not… coming with us."

"And you wonder why you're the baby of the group."

-

-

_"You know how this story ends, we all do."_

-

-

His cut bled all over the snow.

He held his hand, furious and hurt. The three pairs of eyes turned their gaze towards him and the disturbed layer of snow, one haunted, the other taunting and the third very far away. There was something about him; there was always something about him that he could never put a finger on. And it's been that way ever since they had become acquaintances had it not? They were all warnings, the cuts, the kills, the wounded... they had be subtle clues left by him and the fates was it not?

What was it about the Japanese teenagers made the motions of a single man look like the acts of a god?

-

-

There is a fire that extinguishes

-

-

"Why do you interfere? He is no longer one of yours; this has nothing to do with you."

"You're trespassing," said Kai slowly as though he thought it obvious that Ozuma understand.

"No more warnings."

With a hiss a dog-sized panther curled its body around Ozuma's back. Its feet sank deep into the snow, the melted water running off into steam. It dulled the violet coat into dull black until it lit up again, spitting gray ashes into the snow. The green-eyed teen pushed the feline's head back, breaking its deadly eye contact with the half-Russian. It flexed its claws in frustration and Takao scrambled backwards, packing snow in front of him with his feet.

Seiryu, the war god, stared malevolently. Did they truly not see the danger in having Takao carry the burden in his state? Did they not understand the detrimental effect of a blader's taint upon his bit beast? Kai's darkness, Dranzer-Suzaku's darkness, was natural stemming from the situation of the half Russian's birth. Takao's was not, he was growing up. He would not be able to retain his childish innocence and purity into adulthood. Many have tried in their greed, all had failed, St. Shields had been stuck cleaning up afterwards.

Ozuma curled inwardly. The state of failure would be less than desirable. The end of the world would be less than desirable. And the disappointment on his teammate's faces would be devastating. Flash Leopard tensed as though to jump. Ozuma held firm, burning the pads of his fingers in the myriad of spots on the plush fur. Kai stared at him with unreadable eyes. Ozuma stared back and wondered—was the young man before him the one he met only few years ago?

Impossible

"You have no right." Kai said as though they were the only ones in existence, on the edge of the Hiwatari property. And Ozuma shivered, his bit beast raised its spine in an effort to make itself look larger, more threatening. "Who are you to tell us which one of us should exist and which should not?" the bleeding had slowed and clotted over the cuts. But as though some internal dam had broken inside of him, the cuts burst and bled darkly through the bright colors of his clothes. Ozuma gritted his teeth, his eyes raw and burning as he managed to reply,

"We're here to keep the balance; we're here to save the world."

The pain lifted.

And he saw...

He was staring at plumes of black feathers.

_"The world does not need to be saved."_

-

-

"Shall we leave him?"

"Someone will come looking for him." Kai nodded and turned towards Takao whose grip on his bey made his hands look as though they would shatter at the next touch. "Go home Takao, listen to Hiroshi for once."

"You're leaving again." The blunette stabbed accusingly, "why? Why do you always have to leave when something happens?"

"Because things happen, things that even I cannot control." Kai replied harshly, eliciting a flinch from Takao. Yuriy made a motion to grab his elbow to steady him. Kai jerked his arm to his side, breathing heavily and alert as though he had been running, fighting—fucking—for hours on end. "Because I'm still required to keep you safe."

In a small broken voice, Takao whispered—"it's not fair."

"It's not supposed to be fair." Yuriy interjected.

"Why didn't you... why didn't you guys ever tell me this?"

"It never came up?" Kai chuckled humorlessly, "he never wanted me to tell you. _We_ never felt the need to tell you. It's not a game Takao, it never was."

"Did it mean anything to you, when I kissed you, when I told you that I loved you?"

Something might have flickered in Kai's eyes then, something that might have given him hope. But there was nothing. There had never been anything.

Takao's hands began to bleed. "How do I know that what you say is true? How do I know... h... How am I supposed to know that you're not lying, that it's not Kuro Su-"

"_Go_ Takao, and stay out of trouble."

Takao began to cry. Not just the tears that would glide over his red cheeks and freeze on his clothes but full sobs and wails that rang so much loudly in the cold air. Kai's mouth fell slack,

_"Don't let him fall..."_

"I won't." Kai's face never hit the ground. Yuriy had been too quick for that. "I won't ever let you go."

And slowly, tears began to brim from beneath the thick lashes.

-

-

Maybe it was too late, maybe it wasn't. Hiroshi continued running.

-

-

A childish voice chimes—"really, you loved him?"

"Enough, I have loved him enough."

A sheepish smile unbefitting of the young man wearing it, "I suppose it's true what they say."

"Which is...?"

"That it makes us do foolish things."

"You're not making sense Brooklyn."

"No, I guess not."


End file.
